Second call for innovation studies for the development of generative AI models
Funding for European SMEs/start-ups to develop or customize generative AI models using large-scale HPC resources, focusing on innovation and business challenges.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
European Commission has archived this opportunity.
Funder: European Commission
Due Dates: February 25, 2026 (Full application deadline; call may close earlier if 250 proposals are received)
Funding Amounts: Up to €300,000 per project (max €200,000 for main participant); total call budget €4M; project duration up to 10 months
Summary: Supports SMEs and start-ups to develop/customize generative AI models using large-scale European HPC resources to address specific business challenges.
Key Information: Call closes early if 250 proposals are received; strict eligibility and budget rules apply.
Description
This funding opportunity, as part of the Fortissimo Plus (FFplus) project, aims to empower European SMEs and start-ups highly skilled in generative AI, software development, and data processing to conduct innovation studies for developing or customizing generative AI models. Projects must leverage large-scale European high-performance computing (HPC) resources (e.g., pre-exascale/exascale supercomputers) to address concrete business challenges. Proposals must articulate the business need, justify the development of new or customized AI models, and demonstrate potential industrial and societal impact.
Eligible projects should provide a detailed plan for the entire machine learning lifecycle, including data preparation, model engineering, evaluation, reproducibility, and a data management plan adhering to FAIR principles. The initiative seeks to strengthen the technological capabilities and competitiveness of European SMEs/start-ups in generative AI, with an emphasis on innovation, business impact, and dissemination of success stories.
