Odico and the EIC Accelerator: Bankrupt Ten Weeks In

Odico, founded in Odense in 2012 and listed on Nasdaq First North since 2018, built robots for the construction industry, including robots that cut polystyrene (EPS) formwork for concrete and a mobile tile-cutting robot called Cut 'n Move. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's June 2023 cut-off with blended finance and awarded an EU grant of €2.36 million for TopoForm, a €3.37 million project to 3D-print lightweight composite formwork, the moulds into which concrete is poured, for topology-optimised structures that the company said use "up to 70% less concrete", according to CORDIS. The project started on 2 January 2024. On 15 March 2024 Odico filed for its own bankruptcy, and on 18 March the probate court in Odense declared it bankrupt, according to the company's announcement. CORDIS records that the project was "terminated on 1 March 2025". No periodic report was published.

Odico's last annual accounts, for the year to 30 June 2023, show a net loss of DKK 20.6 million and cash of DKK 115,903, nine days after the cut-off in which the EIC selected it, according to filings with the Danish Business Authority. In February 2024 it cut its forecast for the 2023/24 result to an EBITDA loss of DKK 16 to 20 million, from a loss of 2 to 5 million, and said it was working to raise liquidity; a month later it said "all options are exhausted", according to Økonomisk Ugebrev, which reprinted both announcements.

Where Odico Stands Now

Odico is in bankruptcy. After talks with several interested buyers failed, its robots, CNC machines and four Cut 'n Move tile robots were put up for online auction in July 2024, according to Auktionshuset dab. In September 2026 the bankruptcy estate sued the company's two most recent chief executives and three former board members in the Odense court, accusing them of continuing to trade irresponsibly and taking on obligations the company could not pay in the run-up to the 2024 bankruptcy, according to Building Supply, citing Fyens.dk. The outcome of the case is not public.

The Technology: Moulds for Leaner Concrete

Concrete causes 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the CORDIS summary says. Structures shaped by topology optimisation can carry the same loads with far less concrete, but need custom moulds, which are usually heavy timber. Odico planned to print lightweight composite formwork with robots, which it said was "52% cheaper, 5x lighter" and had a lower carbon footprint, and it said it had validated the system with two lead customers in Denmark.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

TopoForm was Odico's second EIC grant. CORDIS lists an earlier Horizon 2020 EIC pilot project, SMARTSTAIR, for a containerised robot cell that cuts polystyrene formwork for concrete staircases, with an EU contribution of €947,971.50 towards a total cost of €1,354,245 from March 2020 to June 2023, according to CORDIS. The European Commission's list of the October 2019 EIC Accelerator pilot winners shows one Danish grant-only winner only as "anonymous", and Odico appears under its own name in none of the Commission's 2019 and 2020 lists; the SMARTSTAIR grant agreement was signed on 18 February 2020, a day before that of QDevil, another Danish winner of the October 2019 round. The project's published report says a beta version of the production cell was built and its primary functions validated, and that on-site pilot tests with concrete partners and a marketable product were still to come. No customer for the cell has been announced.

The award promised to take TopoForm to construction projects across Europe, with the company targeting "dedicated revenues of 82.5M and 80 total new employees" by 2028. The company went bankrupt before the end of the project's first quarter. No report, product or customer project from the EIC project is public.

1. TopoForm scale-upNot deliveredBankrupt March 2024.
2. European customer projectsNot deliveredNone reported.
3. 80 new jobs by 2028MissedAll jobs lost.
4. Project reportingNoneTerminated March 2025.

The Money

Odico lost DKK 47 million over its last four financial years. Its cash fell from DKK 28.2 million in June 2021 to DKK 115,903 in June 2023. How much of the EU grant was paid out before bankruptcy, and whether any of it is being recovered, is not public.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Cutting concrete use is one of the largest levers for construction emissions, and the idea behind TopoForm remains relevant. But Odico failed before the project could produce anything, and its accounts for the year to June 2023 showed cash of DKK 115,903.

The Verdict

Odico's bankruptcy trustees and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.