28DIGITAL (formerly EIT Digital)

Funds and connects startups through 28DIGITAL routes that include venture incubation, education support, and market-readiness preparation across Europe.

28DIGITAL, formerly EIT Digital, is an European Institute of Innovation and Technology Knowledge and Innovation Community and an EU public-private partnership focused on digital transformation across the EU27 and Horizon Europe associated countries. It sits inside the EIT family rather than operating as a standalone venture fund, and its role is to connect startups, research teams, corporates, and public partners around digital industry, cities, wellbeing, technology, finance, hardware, and manufacturing.

Its funding-adjacent routes are mixed. The Venture Incubation Program combines cash prizes with a 5% SAFE equity stake, with €5,000 in the first stage and up to €25,000 at the final stage. The Open Innovation Factory is a matching layer that can route teams into cascade-funded EU calls, including opportunities reported at up to €400,000 per project, while the Champions pitch competition is in-kind support rather than cash. Education and scale support also run through the Master School, Speed Master, Doctoral School, Scale Smart, and Growth Services.

28DIGITAL works best for early deep-tech teams that need partners, visibility, and access to European funding pathways rather than a single grant cheque. Its model is deliberately hybrid: some routes are prize-based, some are equity-linked, and some are referral channels into other EU programmes. That makes it a useful entry point for teams that can show a prototype, a credible commercial case, and a clear fit with its strategic domains.