Seedbed Venture Catalyst

Seedbed Venture Catalyst — TeamUp

Invests startup and industry teams with commercialization support for Seedbed Venture Catalyst TeamUp in food technology, agriculture innovation, and climate technology.

Eligibility · EU member states

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The Seedbed Venture Catalyst is EIT Food's pre-seed venture-building programme, delivered through a network of seven specialist agrifood venture-builder partners: Carbon13, Enviu, FOOD FOUNDERS Studio, Fresh Ventures Studio, Ivoro Ventures, Kost Studio, and Zinc. The 2026 cycle of the programme ran two parallel Expression of Interest calls under the "TeamUp" brand — one targeting business and commercial co-founders and one targeting technical and science co-founders — with both calls closing on June 1, 2026. Individuals do not need an existing company to apply; the programme is designed for founders who want to join or co-launch agrifood startups through one of the seven venture-builder partners.

Selected participants receive what EIT Food describes as "catalytic funding" and "smart funding" to overcome early-stage blockers. Specific grant amounts in euros are not published on the programme landing page, but the stated use of funds covers IP licensing, initial prototyping costs, and early hires. Participants also receive strategic network support, expert-led coaching, and access to customer discovery resources within EIT Food's broader European agrifood ecosystem. The instrument is structured as a grant through the venture-builder partner, not a direct cash payment from EIT Food to the individual. Equity terms, if any, are set by the individual venture-builder partners and are not disclosed publicly on the programme page.

The programme operates on a continuous basis — applications are submitted as Expressions of Interest through the individual venture-builder partners rather than through a single central EIT Food portal. Prospective applicants should contact the venture-builder partner whose focus area aligns closest with their agrifood specialism and apply through that partner's intake process. The programme Manager contact is Ian Collingwood at EIT Food (Ian.Collingwood@eitfood.eu).