Verified against official EU sources · last checked 5 days ago (27 lug 2026)
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Overview
I bandi AI Continent rientrano nel programma Digital Europe, il fondo digitale dell'UE da circa 8,1 miliardi di euro. La distinzione che conta: Horizon Europe finanzia la ricerca, Digital Europe finanzia il deployment. Questi bandi finanziano l'IA matura e funzionante, diffusa su larga scala, non il lavoro di laboratorio. Sono i fondi dietro l'AI Continent Action Plan dell'UE dell'aprile 2025, che punta a mobilitare fino a 200 miliardi di euro di investimenti in IA e ad avviare almeno 13 AI Factories entro il 2026. Il bando principale del 2026 (DIGITAL-2026-AI-09) aveva un budget di 60,2 milioni di euro su sette tematiche — dati sanitari e genomici, IA per l'imaging oncologico, veicoli autonomi, IA generativa per le pubbliche amministrazioni e banchi di prova per i mondi virtuali — e si è chiuso il 3 marzo 2026; i risultati sono comunicati a partire da giugno 2026, con gli accordi di sovvenzione previsti intorno a settembre 2026. Il bando AI Continent attualmente aperto è DIGITAL-2026-AI-DATA-10 (soluzioni digitali per la conformità normativa attraverso i dati): budget di 8,5 milioni di euro, sovvenzioni a somma forfettaria da 2 a 5 milioni di euro per progetto con un tasso di finanziamento del 50 percento, scadenza 1 ottobre 2026. Il finanziamento è una sovvenzione, non capitale di rischio, di norma il 50 percento dei costi e il 75 percento per le PMI nelle tematiche di sostegno alle PMI. Il lavoro è destinato a consorzi transfrontalieri, non a candidati singoli. Consorzi come EWC e DC4EU hanno scelto questa via, ottenendo ciascuno quasi 10 milioni di euro, e DS4Health ha fatto lo stesso per le competenze digitali in ambito sanitario. Se la tua IA è pronta per il deployment e sai costruire una partnership lungo tutta la catena del valore, questo è il bando giusto per te.
I tassi di successo dichiarati del 15-25 percento abbelliscono il quadro reale.
Is this for you?
- Legal entity (public or private) in an EU, EEA or Digital-Europe-associated country
- Consortium — typically 3+ independent entities from 3 different eligible countries
- Deployment-ready AI — a working product to roll out, not lab research
- Startup or SME that needs free GPU compute — AI Factory access needs no consortium
- Co-funding secured — you can cover roughly half the project costs yourself
- Lone startup wanting non-dilutive cash for its own product → EIC Accelerator
- Early-stage AI research (TRL 1–5) → Horizon Europe Cluster 4
- Natural persons (sole traders excepted) — companies and public bodies only
- Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers (or owned by them) — excluded in any role, even as subcontractor
The big exception: AI Factory compute is not a grant. A single startup can apply alone, for free, via the EuroHPC access portal — Fast Lane gives up to 50,000 GPU hours with approval in about 4 working days.
Programme pillars
AI Factories, supercomputers, GPU access
Common European data spaces, high-quality datasets
Skills, education, brain circulation
Industry uptake, GenAI for Europe, public sector AI
AI Act, sandboxes, trustworthy AI
Success rates — the honest picture
Roughly 1 in 8 applications gets funded. A sharp, evidence-backed proposal is what separates the funded from the rejected.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Grant success rate | ~49% | "Around one in two", with a lot of variation across topics — COM(2025) 771 |
| Horizon Europe, for comparison | 12.9–15% | The research programme is 3–4× more competitive than Digital Europe |
| Budget committed by end-2024 | >€3B | 37% of the €8.16B envelope, across 600+ projects |
| Participants reached | 6,500+ | In 37 countries, reaching 55,100 companies and 25,800 public bodies |
| AI call round 9 (closed 3 Mar 2026) | €60.2M | DIGITAL-2026-AI-09 — 7 topics from €1M to €17.5M each |
| AI round 10 — open now | €17.5M | AI-PILOTING-10 (€9M, 2 grants) + AI-DATA-10 (€8.5M, 2 grants), deadline 1 Oct 2026 |
Single-stage evaluation, no resubmission limit. Plan for the full cycle: from the 1 October 2026 deadline, evaluation runs October–November, results land January–February 2027 and grant agreements are signed May–June 2027 — about eight months end to end.
Eligibility
- 1Qualsiasi soggetto giuridico stabilito in uno Stato membro dell'UE, in un Paese SEE/EFTA associato o in un Paese associato a Digital Europe è ammissibile; il tipo di soggetto conta poco, perché aziende, ospedali, università, istituti di ricerca e pubbliche amministrazioni vincono tutti queste sovvenzioni.
- 2Quasi tutte le tematiche AI Continent richiedono un consorzio di organizzazioni indipendenti di Paesi ammissibili diversi, quindi una startup in solitaria senza partner non può candidarsi a quelle tematiche, per quanto valida sia la tecnologia.
- 3Il numero minimo di partner è fissato per ciascuna tematica ed è rigido: nel bando AI-09 di marzo 2026 le tematiche su dati sanitari e genomici richiedevano 5 organizzazioni di 5 Paesi e la tematica sull'IA per l'imaging oncologico ne richiedeva 7 di 7 Paesi, quindi controlla sempre la scheda del bando prima di impegnarti.
- 4Questo è un programma di deployment, non di ricerca, quindi la tua IA deve essere matura e pronta per la diffusione (pensa a TRL 7-9); le proposte che si leggono come un progetto di ricerca appartengono a Horizon Europe e vengono filtrate qui.
- 5Il tuo lavoro deve rientrare nelle aree strategiche nominate dal bando: il bando AI-09 del 2026 ormai chiuso copriva dati sanitari e genomici, IA per l'imaging oncologico, veicoli connessi e autonomi, IA generativa per le pubbliche amministrazioni e banchi di prova per i mondi virtuali, mentre il bando attualmente aperto DIGITAL-2026-AI-DATA-10 riguarda le soluzioni digitali per la conformità normativa attraverso i dati; non esiste un percorso aperto o generico per l'IA.
- 6Le PMI ottengono condizioni migliori, con il tasso di finanziamento che sale al 75 percento sulle tematiche di sostegno alle PMI, ma tutti cofinanziano il resto, quindi devi essere in grado di coprire il 25-50 percento che la sovvenzione non paga.
Eligible applicants must be legal entities established in an EU Member State (including overseas countries and territories), an EEA country (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) or a country associated to the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL). The official list (v7.0, December 2025) names Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine — all limited to Specific Objectives 1, 2, 4 and 5, which covers the AI strand (SO2). Switzerland signed in November 2025, retroactive to 1 January 2025, with the same SO limits. The United Kingdom does not appear on the list at all: UK entities cannot be beneficiaries in DIGITAL, unlike in Horizon Europe.
For the two genomic-data topics, the cancer-imaging topic and both automotive topics, only entities from EU Member States, EEA countries and Switzerland are eligible — associated countries such as Ukraine or Türkiye are shut out. Crucially, eligible entities must not be directly or indirectly controlled from a non-eligible country: 'control' means decisive influence, de jure or de facto, including but not limited to >50% shareholding. A US- or UK-owned subsidiary in the EU is therefore disqualified unless the granting authority exceptionally accepts a guarantee approved by the country of establishment. The condition must already be met at the call deadline; an ownership-control declaration is filed with the proposal.
Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile-network communication equipment — and anything they own or control — are barred from participating in any capacity: beneficiary, affiliated entity, associated partner, subcontractor or in-kind contributor (Appendix 4 of the DIGITAL Work Programme 2025–2027). Entities under EU restrictive measures and Hungarian public-interest trusts under Act IX of 2021 (EU budget-conditionality regime) are likewise excluded. Natural persons cannot apply, except self-employed sole traders without separate legal personality.
Minimum consortium sizes are set per topic: 5 independent beneficiaries from 5 eligible countries for the genomic data-tools and data-storage topics; 7 from 7 countries for the multi-modal cancer-imaging topic; 3 for the autonomous-vehicle secretariat and platform topics and for GenAI in public administrations; and 4 applicants from 3 countries — including at least one research organisation and one private company per targeted sector — for virtual-worlds test beds. Only independent beneficiaries count toward the minimum, not affiliated entities. Financial support to third parties (cascade funding) is not allowed under this call.
The deployment topics run as Simple Grants or Grants for Procurement at a 50% funding rate — the consortium finances the other half itself. A financial-capacity check, based on profit-and-loss accounts, balance sheets and audit reports uploaded to the Participant Register, is run on every beneficiary except public bodies and those requesting no more than €60,000. A weak result can trigger joint and several liability, pre-financing in instalments or none at all, a bank guarantee, forced replacement of the entity — or rejection of the entire proposal.
All proposals under this call undergo an ethics review; for projects developing, testing, deploying or distributing AI systems, it specifically checks human agency and oversight, diversity and fairness, transparency and responsible social impact, while technical evaluators assess the robustness of the AI systems. Ethics conditions become binding deliverables in the grant agreement. Standard EU exclusion grounds apply on top: bankruptcy, unpaid tax or social security, grave professional misconduct, fraud, and misrepresentation during the award procedure — extending to beneficial owners and persons with decision-making power.
The money — co-funded deployment grants plus free compute
Digital Europe — the funding programme behind the AI Continent Action Plan — pays to roll out mature technology, not to invent it. Proposals are shorter than Horizon Europe's and evaluators score deployment capacity and European added value, not scientific novelty. If your AI still needs research, you are in the wrong programme: that is Horizon Europe.
Most grants are Simple or Lump Sum Grants at a 50% funding rate — you must bring the other half yourself. The Commission's own interim evaluation found applicants least satisfied with exactly this. Some countries (the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria) run structured national co-funding schemes for Digital Europe priorities; many member states have nothing. Check your national situation before you commit a consortium. SMEs get 75% only in designated SME-support actions, and Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs — networking and coordination work) are funded at 100%.
Newer AI topics use lump-sum grants: you receive a prefinancing of normally 80% of the maximum grant within 30 days of the agreement entering into force, then no interim payments at all — the balance comes only after the final report. If the final grant amount works out lower than what was paid, the coordinator pays back the difference.
AI Factories — 19 of them plus 13 antennas, backed by €10B of EuroHPC investment — give startups and SMEs free GPU access in three tiers: Playground for experimentation, Fast Lane up to 50,000 GPU hours (approved in ~4 working days), and Large Scale beyond that with bimonthly cut-offs. No consortium, no co-funding, no grant agreement.
How to apply — step by step
- 1Create EU Login account10 min
Go to the EU Authentication Service and create an account.
Create EU Login → - 2Register your organisation1–2 hours
Register in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC.
Participant Register → - 3Identify the right call1–2 weeks
DIGITAL-2026-AI-09 closed 3 March 2026 (56 proposals submitted; grant agreements expected September–November 2026). Monitor the Funding & Tenders Portal for upcoming Digital Europe AI calls under the 2025–2027 Work Programme.
- 4Build your consortium (if required)Weeks–months
Most Digital Europe calls require a consortium. Check the specific call conditions for minimum partner requirements.
Partner Search → - 5Write your proposal6–10 weeks
Follow the call-specific template. Digital Europe proposals are typically shorter than Horizon Europe — focus on deployment and uptake rather than basic research.
- 6Submit electronicallyBefore deadline
Submit via the Funding & Tenders Portal before the relevant call deadline. DIGITAL-2026-AI-09 is now closed — watch the portal for new Digital Europe AI calls when they open.
- 7Evaluation~3–4 months
Expert evaluators score your proposal. Digital Europe uses different criteria from Horizon Europe — focus is on deployment capacity and European added value.
What evaluators look for
Relevance
Evaluators check that the proposal genuinely advances the call's stated AI objectives and EU policy, not just that it is technically interesting. For some topics they also weigh how far the project secures Europe's digital technology supply chain and overcomes the lack of market finance. In tie-breaks within a topic, the Relevance score ranks proposals first.
- Alignment with the objectives and activities described for the topic in section 2
- Contribution to long-term policy objectives, relevant policies and strategies, and synergies with activities at European and national level
- Extent to which the project would reinforce and secure the digital technology supply chain in the EU (where applicable to the topic)
- Extent to which the project can overcome financial obstacles such as the lack of market finance (where applicable to the topic)
Implementation
Evaluators judge whether the plan is credible and the team can actually deliver: a mature project, a sound work plan that uses resources efficiently, and a consortium with the proven capacity to do the work.
- Maturity of the project
- Soundness of the implementation plan and efficient use of resources
- Capacity of the applicants, and where applicable the consortium as a whole, to carry out the proposed work
Impact
Evaluators assess whether the project will deliver the call's expected outcomes, strengthen competitiveness and bring real benefits to society, with credible dissemination plans. For some topics they also weigh how it addresses environmental sustainability and the European Green Deal.
- Extent to which the project will achieve the expected outcomes and deliverables and, where relevant, the plans to disseminate and communicate achievements
- Extent to which the project will strengthen competitiveness and bring important benefits for society
- Extent to which the project addresses environmental sustainability and the European Green Deal goals (where applicable to the topic)
Documents you'll need
The EC's blueprint for making Europe a global AI leader — 5 pillars, InvestAI, AI Factories.
- Contains:
- The 5 pillars: Infrastructure (AI Factories), Data, Talent, AI adoption, and Regulatory framework. Defines the InvestAI Fund (€200B target), AI Gigafactories concept, and sector-specific AI deployment.
- Length:
- ~30 pages
- Why:
- Understand the strategic context for all AI funding in Europe.
- When:
- Read first
All open calls, budgets, and topics under Digital Europe.
- Contains:
- Every Digital Europe call for 2025-2027 including AI factories, data spaces, digital identity, cybersecurity, and digital skills.
- Length:
- ~120 pages
- Why:
- Source of truth for all Digital Europe funding.
- When:
- Find your specific call
Closed 3 March 2026. Seven topics covering AI deployment in public administration, automotive, health data, and smart cities — reference for future calls.
- Contains:
- Seven topic descriptions, expected outcomes, budgets, and evaluation criteria for the now-closed DIGITAL-2026-AI-09 call (deadline 3 March 2026; 56 proposals submitted). Useful reference for scoping future AI Continent calls.
- Length:
- Multiple topic pages
- Why:
- Reference documentation for understanding AI Continent call scope and evaluation criteria.
- When:
- For reference; call is closed — new Digital Europe AI calls expected in late 2026/2027
Step-by-step guide to the Digital Europe application process.
- Contains:
- Eligibility rules, application steps, funding rates, and tips for Digital Europe proposals.
- Length:
- Web guide
- Why:
- Practical guide for first-time Digital Europe applicants.
- When:
- Before starting your application
How to access EU supercomputers through AI Factories for training and deploying AI models.
- Contains:
- The 7+ AI Factories, their capabilities, how SMEs and researchers can access compute resources, and the application process.
- Length:
- Web page
- Why:
- If you need GPU/TPU compute for AI training.
- When:
- When exploring AI Factory access
Typical Budget Breakdown
2026 Deadlines
- 4 Nov 20254 Nov 2025Call opens
DIGITAL-2026-AI-09 'AI Continent' opened on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: 7 topics, €60.2M total (largest envelopes: €17.5M genomic data storage, €17M virtual-worlds test beds, €14.4M cancer imaging). A total of 56 proposals were received across all 7 topics.
- 3 Mar 2026, 17:00 CET3 Mar 2026, 17:00 CETSubmission deadline (closed)
One proposal per topic, submitted electronically via the Portal; each application may address only one topic. Deadline has now passed — 56 proposals were received across 7 topics; 24 were above threshold.
- Apr–Jul 2026Apr–Jul 2026Evaluation (complete)
One-stage submission, one-step evaluation by a committee assisted by independent experts; admissibility and eligibility checks first, then scoring and ranking per topic. Flash evaluation results published on the Funding & Tenders Portal on 24 July 2026: 24 of 56 proposals above threshold across the 7 topics.
- By 3 Aug 2026By 3 Aug 2026Evaluation results letters
Flash evaluation data published on the Portal on 24 July 2026. Formal notification letters to all 56 applicants due by 3 August 2026 — five months from the 3 March closure. Winners are invited into grant agreement preparation.
- Jul–Sep 2026Jul–Sep 2026Grant agreement preparation (GAP)
PIC validation by REA, financial-capacity documents, ownership-control supporting evidence and any required guarantees; eligibility status generally cannot change during GAP.
- 15 Oct 202615 Oct 2026Grant agreement signature
Target GA signature per the official call fiche timetable; Swiss beneficiaries can only sign once the association agreement produces legal effects.
- T+30 days after GA entry into forceT+30 days after GA entry into forcePre-financing paid
Normally 80% of the maximum grant amount, paid to the coordinator 30 days from entry into force or 10 days before the project start date, whichever is latest — i.e. around November 2026.
- 21 Apr – 1 Oct 202621 Apr – 1 Oct 2026Next AI calls open now (10th wave)
A 10th call wave launched on 21 April 2026 includes two AI-related Digital Europe topics open for new applications until 1 October 2026: DIGITAL-2026-AI-PILOTING-10-SCREENING (AI-based image screening in medical centres, €9M / 2 grants, results by 1 Mar 2027) and DIGITAL-2026-AI-DATA-10-COMPLIANCE (AI and data analytics for regulatory compliance, €8.5M / 2 grants). These are separate calls from DIGITAL-2026-AI-09 and accept fresh applications.
After you're funded
Prefinancing of normally 80% of the maximum grant arrives within 30 days of the agreement entering into force. There are no interim payments. The balance is paid only after the final report — and if the final calculated grant is lower than what you already received, the Commission recovers the difference from the coordinator.
Lump-sum grants pay out against completed work packages, so the final report and KPIs (use cases delivered, live demos, stakeholders reached) decide your money. You must keep records of all work done — the Commission, OLAF (the EU anti-fraud office), the EPPO (European Public Prosecutor's Office) and the European Court of Auditors can all audit you.
All payments go to the coordinator. The grant agreement fixes one of three liability regimes: limited joint-and-several liability with individual ceilings, unconditional joint-and-several liability, or individual financial responsibility — negotiate which during grant preparation, it matters if a partner fails.
High-risk supplier exclusions (notably around 5G/6G network equipment) apply for the project's lifetime, including to your subcontractors. Entities controlled from outside the EU and associated countries face ownership-control assessments — the interim evaluation notes these have caused delays and changes to grant agreements. IPR rules require you to protect your results.
Call fiches state it plainly: replication and large-scale deployment across countries 'is expected to take place through funding from national sources' — structural funds, regional funds, national or private money. Budget your scale-up separately from day one.
Practical notes
AI deployment funding sits under multiple sibling identifiers (DIGITAL-2026-AI-09, DIGITAL-2026-EDIH-AC-09 for hubs, DIGITAL-2026-DSM-AI-09 for uptake/deployment) all tagged "AI Continent" and managed by HaDEA. Filter the Funding & Tenders portal by the Digital Europe programme rather than a single call code, or you will miss the topic that actually fits you. Topics are typically single-stage with a fixed budget per topic and often a single expected grant, so read the topic budget line before investing time.
Standard Digital Europe grants are co-funded at 50%; SME-support actions go up to 75%. Unlike Horizon, this is deployment money expecting market uptake, so reviewers want a credible plan to cover the other half and to keep the solution running after the grant. Build the matching funds into your budget narrative, not as an afterthought.
The official Digital Europe partner-search platform (b2match.com/e/digital-europe, run by Greece's National Documentation Centre EKT) lets you publish a profile, browse partners, and message directly at no cost; registration runs to April 2027. HaDEA also runs free Info Days for AI Continent topics (e.g. the EDIH-AC-09 session) with recordings and slide decks posted afterwards on its events pages — watch them before drafting, as they spell out scoring emphasis and common rejection reasons.
Every member/associated state has a Digital Europe NCP that gives free guidance on eligibility, partner search, and crucially many will read a draft and flag weaknesses before you submit. They are your fastest route to confirming whether your entity type and country are eligible for a specific topic. Find yours via the Funding & Tenders portal NCP directory or your national agency (e.g. FFG in Austria).
Who's been funded
67 projects funded · €160.3M in EU contribution · sourced from CORDIS.
EWC
€10.3MEU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium
DS4Health
€10.0MDigital skills for Healthcare Transformation
3D-CIRCULAR
€10.0MDigital Deep tech Driven Circular Economy
DC4EU
€9.6MDigital Credentials for Europe
Europeum
€6.0MEUROPEUM European Digital Infrastructure Consortium
EDITH
€5.0MAn ecosystem for digital twins in healthcare
DIH4CAT AI CONNECT
€3.0MCatalonia Digital Innovation Hub
EDIH Rheinland 2.0
€3.0MEuropean Digital Innovation Hub Rheinland
EDIH Rheinland
€3.0MEuropean Digital Innovation Hub Rheinland
DIVA 2.0
€3.0MDigital Innovation Value Accelerator 2.0
DIVA
€3.0MDigital Innovation Value Accelerator
EDIH MADRID REGION 2.0
€2.9MEuropean Digital Innovation Hub Madrid Region 2.0. Supporting Digital Transformation
Who's been funded
A network of physical and virtual sites across Europe where companies can validate AI and robotics for farming and food production in real-world field conditions before bringing them to market.
A trio of super nodes (Nordic, Central, South) letting innovators test AI and robotics for energy, mobility and connectivity under realistic urban conditions and check compliance before deployment.
Fifty-one partners across nine countries provide validation environments for medical AI and robotics, from machine learning in imaging to surgical and rehabilitation robots, helping align them with the AI Act.
A world-class reference facility with 25 beneficiaries across eight countries, coordinated by France's CEA, where manufacturers test AI, robotics and autonomous systems for flexible, resilient production. Runs January 2023 to December 2027 under grant agreement 101100707.
Key Features
Official links & resources
- Digital Europe Programme — EU Funding & Tenders Portal
- DIGITAL-2026-AI-PILOTING-10 call fiche (deadline 1 Oct 2026)
- DIGITAL-2026-AI-DATA-10 call fiche (deadline 1 Oct 2026)
- AI Continent Action Plan
- Digital Europe Work Programme 2025–2027
- EuroHPC access portal — free AI Factory compute
- AI Factories — overview and access
- How to get funding under Digital Europe
Frequently Asked Questions
Qualsiasi soggetto giuridico (pubblico o privato) stabilito in uno Stato membro dell'UE, in un Paese SEE associato o in un Paese associato a Digital Europe può candidarsi. Il programma finanzia il deployment dell'IA matura, quindi è adatto ad aziende, organizzazioni di ricerca, ospedali ed enti pubblici in grado di mettere in uso reale soluzioni di IA funzionanti. Startup e PMI sono benvenute e la maggior parte delle tematiche è pensata per consorzi anziché per candidati singoli.
Si tratta di sovvenzioni, non di capitale di rischio, quindi non cedi quote. Il bando AI Continent di marzo 2026 (DIGITAL-2026-AI-09) aveva un budget complessivo di 60,2 milioni di euro su sette tematiche, con sovvenzioni per progetto comprese tra circa 1 milione e 17,5 milioni di euro a seconda della tematica. Il bando attualmente aperto (DIGITAL-2026-AI-DATA-10) ha un budget di 8,5 milioni di euro con sovvenzioni a somma forfettaria da 2 a 5 milioni di euro per progetto. Il tasso di finanziamento standard è il 50 percento dei costi ammissibili, che sale al 75 percento per le PMI nelle tematiche di sostegno alle PMI e al 100 percento per le azioni di coordinamento e supporto, quindi cofinanzi la parte restante.
La maggior parte delle tematiche AI Continent richiede un consorzio, non un candidato singolo. A seconda della tematica servono di norma da 3 a 7 organizzazioni indipendenti di Paesi ammissibili diversi (ad esempio, 5 partner di 5 Paesi per le tematiche sui dati sanitari e 7 di 7 Paesi per la tematica sull'IA per l'imaging oncologico). Un numero ridotto di tematiche di coordinamento o di segretariato consente gruppi più piccoli, ma metti in conto di costruire una partnership transfrontaliera.
Il bando principale del 2026 (DIGITAL-2026-AI-09) si è chiuso il 3 marzo 2026; la valutazione si è svolta da marzo ad aprile 2026, i risultati sono comunicati a partire da giugno 2026 e gli accordi di sovvenzione sono previsti intorno a settembre 2026. Il bando AI Continent aperto adesso è DIGITAL-2026-AI-DATA-10 (soluzioni digitali per la conformità normativa attraverso i dati), che si è aperto il 21 aprile 2026 e si chiude il 1 ottobre 2026 alle 17:00 ora di Bruxelles. Tutte le proposte vengono presentate per via elettronica attraverso il Portale dei finanziamenti e degli appalti dell'UE; le candidature cartacee non sono accettate.
I bandi di deployment di Digital Europe sono meno una lotteria rispetto alle sovvenzioni per la ricerca, perché ogni tematica finanzia un numero ridotto di grandi progetti (spesso solo da 1 a 4 assegnazioni per tematica). La competitività dipende molto dalla tematica specifica e da quanti consorzi forti si candidano. Il bando attualmente aperto DIGITAL-2026-AI-DATA-10 ha un budget di 8,5 milioni di euro per un'unica tematica, quindi aspettati solo una manciata di assegnazioni: la via realistica è candidarsi solo dove il tuo consorzio è chiaramente adatto, anziché disperdere le forze.
Aspettati circa otto mesi dalla scadenza alla firma sul bando attuale: la scadenza del 1 ottobre 2026 per DIGITAL-2026-AI-DATA-10 porta alla valutazione da ottobre a novembre 2026, ai risultati da gennaio a febbraio 2027 e agli accordi di sovvenzione da maggio a giugno 2027. Un pagamento di prefinanziamento di solito segue poco dopo la firma della sovvenzione, mentre il resto viene pagato a fronte di traguardi di rendicontazione lungo la durata del progetto. Metti in conto diversi mesi di finanziamento ponte tra la candidatura e la ricezione della prima rata.
Le proposte vincenti mostrano un chiaro valore aggiunto europeo: impatto transfrontaliero, allineamento alle priorità dell'AI Continent (infrastruttura dell'IA, spazi di dati, IA affidabile e pronta per l'AI Act e IA in settori strategici come la sanità e la mobilità) e un piano credibile per il deployment su larga scala. Costruisci un consorzio che copra l'intera catena del valore, centra i KPI specifici della tematica indicati nel bando e dimostra che la tua IA è matura e pronta all'uso, non ancora in fase di ricerca.
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