InVera Medical, Loci Orthopaedics, Ovagen and Selio Medical all secured funding in the ‘most competitive’ EIC Accelerator to date.

Four Irish start-ups and companies backed by Enterprise Ireland are to receive a total of €23m in funding from an EU accelerator programme.

The EIC Accelerator from the European Innovation Council is part of the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. It provides grant and equity funding to high-potential start-ups and SMEs capable of creating new tech markets or disrupting existing ones.

Galway-based InVera Medical (formerly known as Venari Medical) and Loci Orthopaedics, Mayo-based Ovagen and Dublin’s Selio Medical are the four Irish companies that have emerged successful in the latest EIC Accelerator round.

InVera Medical CEO Stephen Cox said it would provide a “huge step forward” for the start-up’s medical device for treating venous leg ulcer patients.

Ovagen CEO Dr Catherine Caulfield added that the grant and equity funding would be “instrumental” for the company, which is producing germ-free eggs, and help scale up production for its pharma and biotech customers.

In all, 74 companies from 18 European countries were selected by panels of investors and entrepreneurs to receive €382m in funding. With more than 1,000 applicants, the EIC Accelerator described it as the most competitive round to date.

Ireland was in fifth position in terms of the value of total funding secured, behind Germany, France, Finland and the Netherlands.

Enterprise Ireland CEO Leo Clancy welcomed the news and said that his organisation’s EIC accelerator activities “align very well” with the ambitions it has laid out in its new three-year strategy to make Ireland a leading destination for starting and scaling a business.

“This is a great achievement by the four companies involved. Their success is a reflection of the hands-on support they receive at different stages of their journey from our research commercialisation, EIC, high-potential start-ups and sector teams.”

Irish companies AVeta Medical, Akara Robotics, CrannMed, Contego Sports and ProVerum were selected to receive funding and mentorship from the EIC Accelerator at the end of last year.

Reporting: Silicon Republic