dynumerics.ai / Deep Tech Radar / 30 October 2026
This is the latest issue. Weekly signals we're watching: EU funding calls, research, European rounds and the Czech ecosystem.
4 November 2026 (17:00 Brussels) is the final full-proposal cut-off of the year. Full proposals require an approved Step 1 short proposal, which takes 4 to 6 weeks to evaluate. Dual-use applications are eligible since July 2026.
The draft 2027 EIC Work Programme cuts Accelerator full-proposal cut-offs from six to four (3 February, 1 April, 1 September and 3 November 2027) and splits Pathfinder Open into a short Stage 1 proposal due 25 February 2027 and a full Stage 2 proposal in September. Dates and budgets may still change before the Commission adopts the programme.
The European Defence Industry Programme's second calls close on 16 February 2027. They include €80M for unmanned and counter-unmanned systems with Ukrainian partners (up to €10M per project), €122.25M for key electronic components and €152.75M for platforms and end-products.
The ERC-2027-PoC call (about €60M) is set to open on 12 November 2026, with cut-offs on 10 March and 16 September 2027. It gives ERC grantees a €150,000 lump sum for 18 months to test the commercial or societal potential of their ERC research.
ESA, UK integrator Autodiscovery and the Oxford Robotics Institute are building a team of four robotic dogs and a scouting drone that coordinate through edge AI and 5G/6G and satellite links. Target uses include patrolling airports, power plants and data centres and disaster response where terrestrial networks are limited.
The Conference on Robot Learning runs 9–11 November with workshops on 12 November. Camera-ready versions of the accepted papers were due on 12 October.
ESA member-state ministers meet at La Nuvola in Rome on 15 December 2026, between the regular ministerial councils. It follows the mandate given at IAC 2026 to prepare decisions on European autonomy in human and robotic exploration.
The Paris start-up, founded in 2025, builds AI that teaches industrial humanoid robots a new task from about ten operator demonstrations, with the aim of deploying in under an hour. Contrarian Ventures and OVNI Capital co-led, with Kvanted, WEPA Ventures, Motier Ventures and Charlie Songhurst participating.
The University of Sussex spin-out, which builds trapped-ion quantum chips on a standard 200mm foundry line, raised the largest Series A for a UK-headquartered quantum company. DCVC and Firgun Ventures co-led the round, with EDBI and Nauta Capital participating.
The French start-up's 12-metre autonomous airships inspect power lines, pipelines and railways, and its AI software flags defects. Rubio Impact Ventures, DRW and Teampact Ventures joined existing backers Y Combinator and Ring Capital.
The Danish-Lithuanian maker of reconnaissance drones for NATO militaries, which keep operating when signals are jammed, raised over €2M from Coinvest Capital, Plug and Play and NGL Ventures. NGL's 68-investor angel syndicate contributed €560,000.
Tech Horizons, the Prague-based deep-tech VC backed by CSG, led a C$29M (US$20M) Series A in the Calgary company, whose CM-70 mini-interceptor weighs under 7 lbs and has a two-mile range. ONE9, Garage Capital, CSG, Ripple Ventures, Feld Ventures and Conconi Growth Partners also invested.
The fund was set up by National Development Investments, part of the Czech National Development Bank, and DEPO Ventures manages it. It plans €3.8M (up to €5.8M) in early-stage investments of up to €500,000 in start-ups from Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, always alongside other funds. Its first deal is Zvook, which builds acoustic sensor networks that detect drones and missiles.
CzechInvest, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Planetum Praha run a week of events including Space2Business (3–4 November), LaunchIT: NextGen Space Founders, Space x AI Connect and an ESA BIC Launchpad evening on 5 November.
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