Apply AI Challenge Innovation Booster
Funds three €14M challenge programmes that turn advanced AI into solutions for healthcare, manufacturing or autonomous driving.
This topic is an innovation booster for advanced AI, organised around a real industry challenge rather than a general-purpose technology programme. Each proposal chooses exactly one sector: healthcare, advanced manufacturing, or in-vehicle autonomous driving. User-industry companies from that sector must be core consortium partners and help define problems that matter to their industry.
The proje…
A Research and Innovation Action that runs a multi-stage, challenge-driven competition in exactly one Apply AI priority sector: healthcare, advanced manufacturing or in-vehicle autonomous driving. Each project defines industry-led problems, launches an open call, supports ten Stage 1 winners with EUR 300,000 grants, then four Stage 2 winners with EUR 2,250,000 grants for the grand-finale stage. The consortium provides data, technical and business support, evaluation, infrastructure and uptake measures for the SME-led teams, with activities starting at TRL 2 and reaching TRL 5.
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Guides for this application
All guides →Horizon Europe Grants for Startups: A Founder Guide
A practical guide to Horizon Europe grants for startups, including EIC, consortia, eligibility, Funding & Tenders, TRL, budgets, and EU strategy.
Start hereTRL Levels Explained for Deeptech Founders
Learn what TRL levels mean, how to estimate technology readiness, and how TRL affects grants, EIC Accelerator, SBIR/STTR, funding stage, and application evidence.
Write proposalHow to Write a Grant Proposal Reviewers Can Score
Learn how to write a grant proposal around reviewer criteria, evidence, work packages, budget logic, and commercialization for deeptech and R&D funding.
DocumentsGrant Work Plan Template: Work Packages, Gantt, Milestones, and Risks
Use this grant work plan template to structure work packages, tasks, owners, deliverables, Gantt timing, dependencies, and risk registers.
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