VCG.AI and the EIC Accelerator: AI Matchmaking for Industrial Waste

VCG.AI, registered in Stuttgart in 2021 and run by co-founders Jon Goriup (CEO) and Mateja Dermastia (COO), develops Value Chain Generator, a cloud platform that uses AI and large language models to find ways to reuse industrial residues: it matches companies that produce waste or by-products with technology providers that can process them and with buyers for the resulting materials. Its EIC Accelerator project receives an EU contribution of €2,490,105 and runs from December 2024 to November 2026, according to CORDIS. The platform is built on "BioLink" models, value chain blueprints drawn from scientific and expert literature.

After the first year, the report says, the big-data aggregation work package was complete, with more data sources and LLM-assisted discovery; the evaluation agent was in progress, and the matchmaking system had been scaled with identifiers beyond the NACE industry codes, according to CORDIS. It states that "validation and piloting has not yet started", and lists testing, demonstrations, reference cases and "further investments and finance" as needs for the next phase. Three patent applications and seven registered designs were filed. When the award was announced in July 2024, Goriup said "the backing of the EIC Fund will help us scale our solution further", according to VCG.AI.

Where VCG.AI Stands Now

VCG.AI has won two further German federal grants: €288,750 from May 2025 for upcycling dairy products using deep learning, and €267,481 from April 2026 for an AI assistant for the bioeconomy, according to North Data. No equity round, EIC Fund investment or named paying customer has been announced, and its accounts were not accessible in free sources. The company markets its platform to companies and to regional economic developers.

The Technology: A Search Engine for Waste Streams

Most industrial residues are underused or discarded, the EIC report says, and existing platforms mostly trade waste as a commodity between two parties. VCG.AI's platform combines three groups, residue producers, technology holders with their readiness levels, patents and locations, and feedstock buyers, and uses literature-based models to propose full value chains ranked by technical, economic and environmental criteria.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The project ends in November 2026, so it is too early to judge it. The engineering work packages progressed, but the report's own admission that piloting had not started after 12 of 24 months leaves the validation phase compressed into the second year. No reference case has been published.

1. Data aggregationCompletedWork package 2.
2. Evaluation agentIn progressWork package 3.
3. Pilots and validationNot startedYear-one report.
4. Follow-on investmentNot announcedReport flags need.

The Money

VCG.AI's disclosed funding is public money: the EIC grant and two German grants. The CEO referred to EIC Fund backing in 2024, but no investment has been announced since.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

The EIC report describes the slow shift from a linear to a circular economy, with most industrial residues still underused. An AI tool that designs whole value chains could speed that up. Proof requires deals closed through the platform.

The Verdict

VCG.AI and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.