EU Funding
EIC Work Programme 2027 adopted: €1.8 billion for deep tech
⏰ Info day: 19 Nov 2026
The Commission adopted the last EIC work programme under Horizon Europe on 5 November: €248M for Pathfinder (grants up to €4M), €92M for Transition, €578M for the Accelerator, €290M for STEP Scale Up, €100M for STEP Scale Up Defence and €400M through the Scaleup Europe Fund. Women TechEU grants double to €150,000, and EIC info days follow on 19 and 20 November.
Our take: Exact 2027 cut-offs come with the call documents, so start Step 1 proposals and Pathfinder consortia now rather than waiting for the dates.
EU Funding
EDIP second call: €80M for unmanned and counter-unmanned systems, due 16 February 2027
⏰ Proposals due: 16 Feb 2027
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.
Our take: The drone topic funds production capacity, not research. Robotics start-ups should team up with a manufacturer that already has an industrial footprint.
EU Funding
ERC Proof of Concept 2027: €150,000 grants, first cut-off 10 March 2027
⏰ First cut-off: 10 Mar 2027
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.
Our take: This is the cheapest first step from an ERC lab to a spin-off. We like to meet those teams before they incorporate.
Research
ETH Zurich's ANYmal solves a giant Rubik's Cube with its feet
The Robotic Systems Lab's ANYmal-D quadruped solved a 4.6 kg giant Rubik's Cube three times out of three, 8 to 9 minutes each, using only its legs. It combined onboard vision, Kociemba's solver and leg control learned in simulation with teacher-student reinforcement learning.
Our take: Legged robots that can manipulate with their feet open up inspection and maintenance jobs without adding an arm.
Research
ESA's Hera resolves Didymos and Dimorphos, detailed images due 25 November
Hera's camera separated the asteroid Didymos from its moon Dimorphos for the first time on 18 October from about 1,280 km away. ESA plans to release the first detailed images of Dimorphos, the asteroid NASA's DART knocked off its orbit in 2022, on 25 November.
Our take: Planetary defence is becoming a real European space capability, with demand for autonomous navigation and compact instruments.
Research
CoRL 2026 in Austin (9–12 November)
⏰ Starts: 9 Nov 2026
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.
Our take: Robot learning is where foundation models meet hardware. We're tracking European author teams.
Research
ESA Intermediate Ministerial Meeting in Rome on 15 December
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.
Our take: Watch this for signals on European crew transport and exploration robotics, which would shape ESA procurement for years.
Funding Rounds
Hypersonica raises €100M Series B for European hypersonic missiles
The British-German defence start-up, founded in December 2023, raised €100M co-led by Lightspeed and General Catalyst, with Plural, 201 Ventures and Germany's SPRIND continuing. The money goes to more test flights and engineering in the UK and Germany.
Our take: US tier-one VCs now lead European strategic-weapons rounds, which pulls defence deep tech toward much bigger, faster financings.
Funding Rounds
Machenta raises $40M seed for robots that learn from one demonstration
The London start-up, founded by Imperial College robot-learning professor Edward Johns and his PhD student Vitalis Vosylius, is building a model that teaches robots new physical tasks from a single demonstration, trained mainly on simulated data. Creandum and Union Square Ventures co-led what Imperial calls the largest UK robotics seed round.
Our take: Investors are pricing robot-learning labs before any product. Professor-led teams with a clear data strategy can raise big early.
Funding Rounds
Tumbleweed raises €6.9M seed for small orbital labs
The Vienna and Delft start-up builds modular orbital laboratories for microgravity research and flew its first, Oasis Alpha, on SpaceX Transporter-17 in July 2026. PactVC led the round, Austria's largest spacetech seed, with Vanagon Ventures, Prototype Capital and EWOR.
Our take: Microgravity research as a service is a credible early space business, and a flight before the seed round makes the case.
Funding Rounds
Bleu Robotics raises €5M pre-seed to teach humanoid robots factory tasks
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.
Our take: Deployment time, not hardware, is the bottleneck for humanoids in factories. Software that shortens it is where early value sits.
Czech
Kaya VC and Credo Ventures put most of an $8M seed into Polish AI start-up e2e
e2e makes an open-source framework where an AI agent runs end-to-end tests of web and mobile apps described in plain language, then replays the steps without new model calls. The two Czech funds supplied most of the seed, with Point Nine, Baobab Ventures and Script Capital.
Our take: Czech VCs are leading regional AI deals, and they are natural co-investors for CEE AI founders.
Czech
Prague's Tech Horizons leads $20M Series A in interceptor maker North Vector Dynamics
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.
Our take: Czech defence capital now leads rounds abroad, so Czech dual-use founders have a strong local lead investor.
Czech
Czech Space Week 2026 wraps up in Prague and Brno
CzechInvest, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Planetum Praha ran the 2–8 November festival, including the Space2Business conference, the ESA BIC Liftoff Challenge final and the ESA BIC Launchpad for incubated start-ups. ESA BIC Czech Republic says details of financial support for the next cycle come around the turn of 2026/2027.
Our take: Czech space start-ups should line up ESA BIC applications now, before the next cycle's terms are published.