CDTI Neotec

Neotec (project start)

Supports Spanish young technology companies with non-repayable grants for early product validation and enterprise growth.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

Neotec is an annual non-repayable grant programme administered by CDTI E.P.E. (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación), Spain's public agency for industrial R&D financing. The programme targets early-stage technology-based companies incorporated in Spain within the three years preceding the application date, with a minimum share capital of EUR 20,000. The 2026 call published a total budget of EUR 20,383,300 and closed on 14 May 2026; the 2027 cycle is expected to open in spring 2027 following the annual pattern.

For the 2026 call, projects required a minimum eligible budget of EUR 175,000, with applicants covering at least 30% of eligible costs. The standard grant intensity was up to 70% of eligible costs, capped at EUR 250,000. Companies hiring a PhD researcher qualified for an enhanced rate of up to 85% of eligible costs, capped at EUR 325,000, plus a training bonus of up to EUR 18,300 (MIT track) or EUR 10,000 (Georgia Tech track). A minimum EUR 5 million ring-fence within the 2026 call was reserved for women-led companies. Projects beginning in January 2027 covered either a one-year or two-year execution period, concluding no later than 31 December 2028.

Only Spanish-registered, Spanish-operating for-profit companies qualify; universities, research organisations, and non-profits are ineligible. The programme explicitly excludes companies older than three years at the application date. CDTI evaluates proposals on the technological novelty and viability of the business plan, the innovation intensity of the project, and the team's capacity to execute. Applicants with a clear technology differentiation, a defensible IP position, and a PhD-level scientific founder hold structural scoring advantages. The PhD-researcher enhancement and the women-led set-aside represent two distinct paths to higher grant ceilings that applicants should plan for at the proposal stage.