Innovate UK and Claire Griffin, the UK National Contact Point for the European Innovation Council (EIC) & European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE), would like to invite you to a webinar on 4 December which will give you an overview of EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges Pilot Scheme.

The EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges (Pilot) aims to support high-risk, demand driven deep tech innovation with transformative potential especially in areas where there is extensive research but lack of commercial update. This Pilot aims to assess whether competitive, stage-gated support can accelerate the path to market for high-risk deep tech innovations and whether early integration of demand-side actors can enhance the relevance, validation and ultimately the uptake of breakthrough of breakthrough solutions.

The two EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges in 2026 are:

• Accelerating Physical AI: Embodied Intelligence for the Next Frontier of AI-powered Robotics: this Challenge aims to accelerate the development towards integration, deployment and commercialisation of breakthrough Physical AI solutions that will enhance Europe’s technological sovereignty, sustainability, and global competitiveness.
• Translating Disruptive New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) into Practice: NAMs have the potential to replace, reduce or refine animal use in the testing of medicinal products. This Challenge competition therefore looks to accelerate the adoption of NAMs in biomedicine and support companies that want to bring NAMs to the market.

This webinar is ideal for start-ups, SMEs or research performing organisations (university, research or technology organisations, including teams, individual Principal Investigators and inventors in such institutions who intend to form a spin-out company), as well as larger companies.

There will be an opportunity for Q&A following the end of the session.