Tilkal and the EIC Accelerator: Traceability Waiting for Rules
Tilkal, founded in Paris in 2017, runs a platform that records supply chain events on a blockchain so that companies can trace products from origin to shelf. Its EIC project set out to combine that data-sharing network with "algorithms for supply chain analysis and scoring in real time", and listed early traction in agrifood, textiles, cosmetics, minerals and aerospace, according to CORDIS.
The European Innovation Council granted €2,492,700 towards a €3.56 million project from January 2023 to September 2025. The final report lists a machine learning model that spots outliers in supply chain flows, a correction layer driven by user feedback, a risk model for whole supply chains and "a basis" for extracting data from business documents, with two pilots in food and textiles. In May 2024 the EIC Fund and Innovacom invested, amount undisclosed. Tilkal files its accounts with partial confidentiality, so its revenue is not public; it lost €1.18 million in 2025, according to Pappers.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Tilkal SAS, SIREN 828 499 988, Paris
- Founded
- March 2017
- President and co-founder
- Matthieu Hug
- Staff
- 10 to 19 (2022 register data)
- Investors
- Breega, Ventech, Innovacom, EIC Fund
- EIC project
- 1 Jan 2023 to 30 Sep 2025
- EIC funding
- Blended finance: grant plus EIC Fund equity
Where Tilkal Stands Now
Tilkal sells compliance with EU rules. In January 2025 it said Savencia Gourmet, owner of Valrhona and La Maison du Chocolat, would use it for the deforestation regulation, and in March 2025 that Eramet's eraTrace digital product passport for manganese alloys runs on its platform. In July 2026 it said Gartner had named it a "Market Shaper" for digital product passports. Its earlier named clients include Danone, Daher and the Responsible Mica Initiative.
The record
From blockchain pilots to a Gartner mention
Tilkal won the EIC Accelerator in 2022, took an undisclosed sum from the EIC Fund and Innovacom in 2024, and says it won EUDR and digital product passport clients, but its accounts show a small company still making losses.
- Mar 2017Company foundedParis; Matthieu Hug, Joseph Azar, Sébastien Gaïde
- Jun 2019Seed roundLed by Breega and Ventech
- Jun 2022EIC Accelerator cut-offBlockchain-based supply chain traceabilityblended finance
- Jan 2023EIC project starts€3.56M project€2.49M grant
- May 2024Funding roundInnovacom and EIC Fund; amount not disclosed
- Jan-Mar 2025Client launchesSavencia Gourmet for EUDR; Eramet's eraTrace passport
- Sep 2025EIC project endsRisk models built; two pilots, food and textiles
- Jul 2026GartnerNamed a Market Shaper for digital product passports
Tilkal, CORDIS and Pappers.
"We are witnessing a real paradigm shift with the emergence of regulations defining a future where reliable end-to-end traceability will be a condition for accessing most markets."
Matthieu Hug, President and co-founder, Tilkal, May 2024The Technology: Shared Ledgers and Risk Scores
Tilkal said in May 2024 that its platform processed more than 1.4 million events and 1.3 million notarised transactions a year across 60,000 declared sites and suppliers. Its EUDR module links to the EU's TRACES reporting system, according to its 2024 review. During the EIC project it also implemented the UN Transparency Protocol, a UNECE standard for traceability and product passports.
The EIC project
What the final report says was built
1 means reported as built or completed, 0.5 means reported only as a basis or prototype.
CORDIS project 190155873, final report.
What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The EIC project
The EU paid 70% of a €3.6M project
The project ran from January 2023 to September 2025. CORDIS still lists it as signed.
CORDIS project 190155873. Values in € millions.
The report says Tilkal developed and tested AI risk analysis to help companies meet regulatory requirements. The core risk models were built and piloted. The document understanding layer is described only as "a basis", and the natural language interface as prototyped. The report gives no customer, revenue or usage figures. CORDIS still lists the project as signed.
- Risk analysis modelsDeliveredPer final report.
- Industry pilotsDeliveredFood and textiles.
- Document AI and LLMPrototype"A basis".
- Commercial growthUnverifiedRevenue confidential.
The Money
Tilkal lost €264,000 in 2022 and €644,000 in 2023, made a profit of €262,000 in 2024 and lost €1.18 million in 2025. Its cash rose to €3.68 million at the end of 2024 after the funding round and fell to €1.6 million a year later. It filed its accounts with partial confidentiality, which French law allows for companies below two of three limits: €6 million balance sheet, €12 million revenue or 50 staff.
The accounts
Small losses, one profitable year, then a deeper loss
€ thousands. Tilkal files its accounts with partial confidentiality, so revenue is not public.
Pappers, Tilkal SAS (828 499 988).
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
How much the EIC Fund invested, Tilkal's revenue, how many paying clients it has and whether the 2025 loss was funded by new money are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EU is creating demand for traceability through the deforestation regulation, the battery regulation and digital product passports. Tilkal is a French supplier positioned for that demand, backed by EU money, but whether it can grow faster than its cash runs down is not visible from its filings.
What the project promised
AI analysis and real-time scoring on top of a blockchain traceability network.
What the record shows
Risk models and two pilots built, named EUDR and passport clients, confidential revenue and a €1.18 million loss in 2025.
The Verdict
Built for regulation, scale unproven
Tilkal delivered most of the technology it promised and has clients that EU rules push towards it. With its revenue confidential and losses rising again in 2025, there is no public evidence yet that it has scaled.
Tilkal and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
Industry
Digital and computingEnterprise software
- Focus
- Supply chain software
- Technologies
- Blockchain
- Artificial intelligence
- Keywords
- Supply chain traceability
- Deforestation compliance
- Digital product passports
- Regulatory compliance