These incentives will be managed by ANI
The government has announced a set of strategic incentives aimed at promoting the development of deeptech projects and startups with a high potential for disruptive technological innovation in Portugal.
This support system aims to strengthen the competitiveness, innovation and internationalization of the most disruptive national companies, promoting their growth and consolidation in the global market, through a set of three measures: two vouchers, the Go to EIC Accelerator Voucher and the Deep Tech Voucher, and the Start from Knowledge ignition program.
The Voucher Go to EIC Accelerator, which aims to support the writing of the application to the EIC Accelerator, has an allocation of 1 million euros (M€) and aims to support Portuguese Deep Tech startups that have obtained a positive result in the initial phase of the EIC Accelerator (Step 1). This incentive provides non-repayable financial support of 10,000 euros to cover the costs associated with submitting the application to Step 2 (Full Application).
This incentive is paid in full and in advance after acceptance of the term of commitment, allowing startups to benefit from specialized services for preparing the application, including graphic design and video production services, for making the pitch deck and video pitch and other essential materials for the submission process.
The Deep Tech Voucher, focused on advancing technological maturity, aims to boost the technological and business development of Portuguese Deep Tech startups with an allocation of 2.5 million euros. Aimed at companies that have received a favorable evaluation in Phase 1 of the EIC Accelerator (Step 1), this incentive awards 60,000 euros in non-repayable grants.
The support is aimed at several critical areas for the development of startups, including:
- Definition of strategy, management and consolidation of Intellectual Property rights;
- Support for regulatory processes, including certification costs;
- Definition of strategy and legal and negotiating support in investment processes;
- Technical and legal support for agreements with large companies;
- Support for prototyping and system level demonstration processes, including identifying industrial partners;
- Acquisition of product development services;
- Development of operational plans for the integration of environmental societal governance (ESG) criteria into business processes;
- Support for headhunting and recruitment processes, as well as the implementation of talent management and HR processes;
- Market research to support Go-to-Market strategies.
ANI will be the entity responsible for the operationalization of these two supports, managing the applications and defining their eligibility criteria.
O Start from Knowledge tem como objetivo estimular a criação de start-ups no meio académico com um apoio de até 30.000 euros. Gerido pela ANI em parceria com a Startup Portugal, este novo programa pretende contribuir para a transmissão de conhecimento científico e tecnológico produzido nas Instituições de Ensino Superior para o tecido empresarial nacional.
These incentives are part of the Deep2start Program, announced in November 2025 as part of the “Accelerate the Economy” program, and were formalized on February 20 through Ordinance no. 49/2025, published in Diário da República.
A notice regarding the Go to EIC Accelerator Voucher and the Deep Tech Voucher will soon be published on the ANI website.
