SPRIND Funke / Funken

SPRIND Funke

Supports early-stage German innovators through a pilot challenge route with mentoring and development funding.

Eligibility · EU member states + EEA

SPRIND Funken are early-stage, fast-track competitions run by SPRIND (Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen) for breakthrough ideas that are not yet sufficiently developed for a full SPRIND Challenge. The Funke format provides up to €350,000 per stage, enabling innovators to validate and advance radical concepts in a shorter timeframe and lower-commitment entry point than full Challenges. SPRIND operates as a GmbH wholly owned by the Federal Republic of Germany under the SPRIND-Freiheitsgesetz, which grants it exceptional flexibility in structuring support beyond standard German funding law. The agency's declared mission is to finance technologies capable of fundamentally improving lives across societal, ecological, and economic dimensions.

Funken are launched on a rolling basis across SPRIND's sector taxonomy — Advanced Materials, Agriculture, Aviation, Computing, Energy, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Mobility, Security, and Software and AI — with each Funke defining its own thematic scope and deadline. Confirmed open Funken as of May 2026 include QuantumSense Exploration and Quantum-Driven Intelligence, both listed as open for applications with deadlines to be determined. Eligible applicants include SMEs, large companies, research centres, universities, and individual researchers in Germany and EFTA states, with broader EU, EEA, UK, and Israeli eligibility possible depending on the specific Funke. Intellectual property stays with participants under the same non-exclusive SPRIND usage-right arrangement that applies to full Challenges.

For organisations at an early ideation or proof-of-concept stage with a genuinely radical technological proposition, the Funke track offers a lower funding threshold and potentially faster decision cycle than a full Challenge submission. The live list of open Funken is maintained at sprind.org/en/challenges; individual Funke pages specify the exact eligibility criteria, stage structure, and application requirements that differ between each competition.