The CDTI Innovation reinforces with ICEX a connected route to boost the international growth of technology startups

Public support for innovation works best when instruments do not operate in isolation but as part of an integrated value chain. This is the logic that reinforces the collaboration between the NEOTEC programs of the CDTI Innovation and Challenge of the ICEX with Red.es and Incibe, that of building a more connected trajectory so that Spanish technological startups can advance from the creation of their business project to its international deployment. The basis of transversal collaboration is the idea that “we are connected”, connected between instruments, between institutions and, above all, between phases of business growth. The objective is not only to finance the birth of new technology-based companies but to better accompany them in their maturation, in their opening to strategic markets and in their ability to scale from Spain towards international ecosystems of high added value.

From this vision, NEOTEC and Defía act as connected programs and tools that complement each other. Within the scope of the CDTI Innovation, the NEOTEC program is one of the key instruments to promote the creation and consolidation of technology-based companies, by targeting new business projects of innovative small companies whose business strategy is based on technologies or knowledge developed from the research activity. Call 2026, whose deadline for submitting applications opens on April 14 and runs until May 14, funds technology-intensive business projects with budgets of between 175,000 and 750,000 euros by grant, being able to cover in general up to 70% of the eligible budget, a percentage that amounts to 85% when the action incorporates the hiring of at least one doctor to strengthen the absorption and knowledge generation capacities in the company. In addition, the call reserves a minimum of 5 million euros for companies led by women and includes additional funding for training and training activities, reinforcing a conception of NEOTEC not only as a start-up aid, but as an instrument to build stronger, more knowledge-intensive companies better prepared to grow, scale and internationalize.

In combination, the connection between the NEOTEC and Defy programs aims to strengthen the innovative Spanish ecosystem and facilitate the global expansion of emerging technology companies. To this end, the Challenge calls incorporate a specific allocation of points for companies that have previously been supported by NEOTEC, while NEOTEC includes as eligible expenses certain investments linked to the participation in Challenge.

For its part, the Challenge programs provide a decisive dimension for many business projects of this profile in the field of internationalization. This approach is particularly relevant in the case of Defy Science United Kingdom 2026, an edition aimed at Spanish spin-outs and startups deep tech and science-based interested in accessing or collaborating with the British ecosystem. The program is conceived as an itinerary of soft landing and international acceleration, with specialized workshops, mentoring, individual meetings and immersion activities in Cambridge and other UK enclaves. Its focus is on companies from the intensive scientific or technological field, with products or services in validation or at an early stage of commercialization and with ambition to scale globally. The attractiveness of the program lies not only in the agenda of activities but in the ecosystem to which it opens access. Defy Science UK focuses on exposing participating companies to the British model of scientific scaling, recognized for its strength in knowledge transfer, university-business collaboration and access to specialized investment. Its objectives include knowledge of good practices in deep tech, technology transfer, intellectual property and finance, as well as connecting with scientific hubs, accelerators, incubators and other key players in the UK’s innovation ecosystem.

For the CDTI Innovation, this connection between public actions has a strategic reading, since it allows to give more continuity to the public effort to support innovation, improve the efficiency of resources and offer startups a more integrated value proposal, consolidating their institutional logic of itinerary to support the creation of technological companies, reinforce their training, favor their connection with international networks and facilitate their access to new markets, partners and investors.

In a context in which technological competitiveness increasingly depends on the ability to convert knowledge into business and enterprise on an international scale, this coordination between public programs also sends the message to the entrepreneurial ecosystem that institutional support does not end in the initial phase of the project but is articulated to better accompany companies in their growth.

Innovation is important but connecting innovation, entrepreneurship and internationalization is what allows us to multiply its impact and, on that path, NEOTEC and Defiía are part of the same public conversation, that of helping more Spanish technology startups to be born strong, grow better and go further.

CDTI Innovation

The Center for Technological Development and Innovation, CDTI E.P.E. It is a public company dependent on the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, whose objective is the promotion of technological innovation in the business environment. The mission of the CDTI is to ensure that the Spanish business fabric generates and transforms scientific and technical knowledge into globally competitive, sustainable and inclusive growth. In 2025, within the framework of a new strategic plan, the CDTI provided more than 2 billion euros of support to Spanish companies and startups.

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