# The EIC will take direct equity in defence start-ups for the first time: a EUR100m STEP Scale Up Defence call, up to EUR30m a company, opening 30 June. Public money is crossing a line it never crossed before.
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## Public content

**issue:** 6
**type:** pulse
**date range:** 17 Jun 2026
**tagline:** The EIC will take direct equity in defence start-ups for the first time: a EUR100m STEP Scale Up Defence call, up to EUR30m a company, opening 30 June. Public money is crossing a line it never crossed before.
**published at:** 2026-06-18
**sections:** 
  -     **body:** On **17 June** the **European Innovation Council** opened to **defence and dual-use technologies**, and with it a **EUR100 million STEP Scale Up Defence call** offering **up to EUR30 million in direct equity** per company. It is, in the Commission's own words, **the first time any EU funding programme will ever invest direct equity in defence companies**.

The defence call sits inside a wider **EUR300 million STEP Scale Up** round for strategic deep tech. Applications **open on 30 June** and **close on 28 October 2026**, with results expected in early 2027. Eligible: **start-ups and SMEs** from EU member states, Horizon-associated countries and **Ukraine**.
    **emoji:** 🛡️
    **label:** FUNDING
    **heading:** Brussels crosses the defence line
  -     **body:** The EIC is built to take risks private investors will not, and defence-tech founders have long hit an **ESG and dual-use wall** with conventional VCs. A public co-investor writing **EUR10 to EUR30 million equity cheques** into the sector changes who is willing to anchor a round.

The mechanics matter. The EIC wants to **co-invest in rounds of EUR50 to EUR150 million or more**, expecting the total raise to run **three to five times** its own cheque. So this is **scale-up money, not seed**: line up your private leads first, then design the EIC in as the strategic anchor that crowds them in.
    **emoji:** 🎯
    **label:** WHY IT MATTERS
    **heading:** Patient public capital, now armed

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