Apply AI: Pilot of the “Science for AI” Pillar of RAISE (“Resource for AI science in Europe”) (RIA)

The Horizon Europe call under the topic HORIZON-CL4-2026-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01 aims to establish a network of leading European AI research institutions through a Research and Innovation Action. The initiative seeks to support the "Science for AI" pillar of RAISE, providing a total budget of €17 million. The application process will open on January 15, 2026, and all proposals must be submitted by April 15, 2026.

The eligible applicant types include universities, national research institutes, and large multidisciplinary organizations focused on AI research. Applicants must have a significant number of dedicated researchers, with specifications set for eligibility, such as having at least ten AI research groups or a minimum of 50 total dedicated researchers. The geographical scope is limited to EU member states and associated countries, with entities from China explicitly excluded.

This grant provides a monetary contribution structured as a budget-based grant, meaning funding is based on the actual costs incurred during project implementation. A consortium, consisting of multiple leading European AI institutions, is required to apply. The goal is to establish a virtual institute that pools resources and facilitates collaboration across Europe to address fundamental AI research topics.

The funding aims to enhance Europe's technological sovereignty in AI, focusing on advancing core AI capabilities and supporting fundamental research. Success rates are expected to be low, with only one grant anticipated to be awarded, suggesting a highly competitive selection process.

Proposals should focus on developing a strategic research agenda, fostering synergies with the existing AI landscape, and implementing a world-class research program, including support for joint PhDs and postdoctoral programs. The selected consortium will also be expected to promote further collaboration through expressions of interest from additional European AI labs during the project's first year.

Overall, this funding opportunity is part of the EU's broader push to consolidate its AI research ecosystem and ensure leadership in frontier technologies, aligning with the Apply AI Strategy. The funding is intended to stimulate industrial partnerships and attract talent, contributing to the region's economic security and competitive advantage in AI.

This is a Horizon Europe call for proposals under the DIGITAL (HORIZON-CL4-2026-04) call, specifically targeting the topic HORIZON-CL4-2026-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01: Apply AI: Pilot of the “Science for AI” Pillar of RAISE (“Resource for AI science in Europe”) (RIA). It is a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) with a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is 15 January 2026, and the deadline for submission is 15 April 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The total budget for this topic is 17,000,000 EUR, and it is expected that around one grant will be awarded.

The expected outcome of this pilot is to support the Apply AI Strategy, particularly its research and innovation efforts, which aims to advance core AI capabilities, especially in frontier AI, and support fundamental AI research. The initiative will pool strategic resources to push the technological frontiers of AI and drive scientific breakthroughs, ensuring that the project contributes to the EU's goal of maintaining European leadership in AI research. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

Set up a network of excellent AI Labs in the EU and Associated Countries, raising visibility and strengthening collaboration in European AI research.
Establish a model of cooperation among these labs and support the development of a strategic research agenda for fundamental research in AI.
Ensure that the network operates as a virtual institute across Europe, pooling resources and expertise.
Develop synergies with the AI in science efforts in RAISE.
Stimulate and support world-class research in AI, both fundamental and applied research. Building on Europe’s research strength, attract collaboration with industry and excellent AI talent.

The scope of this call emphasizes ensuring Europe's technological sovereignty in AI by reinforcing and leveraging Europe's strengths, particularly its world-class AI research community. The selected consortium should be composed of leading European AI research institutions. These AI research institutes should be entities with legal structure, dedicated facilities and, a significant number of research teams focusing on AI research. This category also includes multidisciplinary research institutions that host AI-focused branches meeting these criteria. The consortium will pilot a network of excellent European AI research institutes that will collaboratively address fundamental AI research topics, pushing the frontier of the domain. Participants will cooperate within a virtual institute, attracting talents, stimulating industrial initiatives, providing inputs for moonshot projects and developing research agendas for the ones retained by the EC. A substantial share of the project effort should be dedicated to advancing research.

To achieve these objectives, the consortium will undertake a range of dedicated activities:

The project will draw an ambitious strategic research agenda towards the next frontier in AI (in 5 years), including explicit targets and milestones.
The coordination of the participating institutes and their research in AI will be driven by a world class AI research program. The defined programmes will guide collaborative efforts and ensure a cohesive approach to advancing fundamental AI. Collaboration will, among other, be reinforced by jointly supervised PhDs and Postdocs.
The implementation of a world class AI research program, supporting PhDs and Postdocs as well as jointly agreed collaborative research projects, functioning as a distributed "European AI Institute," reflecting the RAISE initiative's long-term vision and enhancing collaboration.

This topic will bring together excellent AI research Institutes in Europe to further develop basic science in AI. Given the importance of such consortium, every participating institution will have to demonstrate its excellence in AI Research through a number of objective criteria.

To ensure openness, during the first year, the project will establish a call for expressions of interest to identify additional leading European AI research labs and individual experts that may collaborate with the project through joint activities or other forms of cooperation to support the expected outcomes and the dedicated activities described in this topic. Proposals should describe the type of actions planned for these collaborations. Appropriate budget and effort should be allocated to ensure that such collaborations complement the network’s expertise and strengthen the implementation of the roadmap.

This initiative will also work in close collaboration with other initiatives in the European AI landscape, such as existing Networks of Excellence, AI societies and associations, and with the fundamental research activities in AI taking place in the horizontal call HORIZON-RAISE and in the EIC pathfinder initiatives to be integrated in RAISE. All proposals are expected to allocate tasks for cohesion activities with the CSA HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-18: GenAI4EU central Hub.

The project selected in this topic should link to the resources offered by the AI Factories and the Data Labs and exploit the various tools offered by the AI-on-demand-platform to share the result and further develop the community.

Beneficiaries that intend to transfer ownership or grant an exclusive licence must formally notify the granting authority (i.e. DG-CNECT and HaDEA) before the intended transfer or licensing takes place and the granting authority may up to four years after the end of the action object to a transfer of ownership or the exclusive licensing of results.

The destination of this call is to achieve open strategic autonomy in digital and emerging enabling technologies (2026-27). Leadership in frontier technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum, Photonics and Semiconductors is essential to Europe’s economic security and global competitiveness. Building on the ambition of becoming the “AI Continent” and in line with the concrete actions devised in the Apply AI Strategy, the EU will consolidate its world-class research ecosystem through initiatives like the RAISE network of AI science labs, the development of safe and efficient frontier AI models, and the deployment of next-generation AI agents and robotics in strategic sectors. In parallel, a long-term quantum strategy will reinforce Europe’s excellence across quantum computing, sensing and communication, supported by new infrastructures and standardisation to secure technological sovereignty. Photonics and semiconductor technologies will remain critical enablers for the digital and green transitions, with investments in advanced integrated photonic devices and resilient semiconductor ecosystems ensuring Europe’s capacity to innovate, scale and compete globally. Foresight and support to emerging materials and technologies will further strengthen Europe’s position at the cutting edge to make sure Europe’s does not miss the emergence of new disruptive technologies, aligning with the Draghi report and the Competitiveness Compass to secure a cohesive, sovereign and future-proof European industrial base.

Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in both Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) falling under this destination.

The general conditions include admissibility conditions, eligible countries, other eligible conditions, financial and operational capacity and exclusion, evaluation and award criteria, submission and evaluation processes, indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, and legal and financial set-up of the grants.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information is provided, including the standard application form (HE RIA, IA) which has been customised for this topic.

Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide and Model Grant Agreements (MGA). Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction, HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space, HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes, HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

There are partner search announcements available, and the submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.

This funding opportunity aims to bolster Europe's AI research capabilities by establishing a network of excellent AI labs across the EU and associated countries. It seeks to create a virtual AI institute that pools resources, fosters collaboration, and develops a strategic research agenda for fundamental AI research. The initiative is designed to attract top AI talent, stimulate industrial initiatives, and contribute to the EU's goal of maintaining leadership in AI. The selected consortium will receive substantial funding to support PhDs, Postdocs, and collaborative research projects, ultimately advancing the frontiers of AI and ensuring Europe's technological sovereignty in this critical field.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are leading European AI research institutions. These institutions should be legal entities with dedicated facilities and a significant number of research teams focusing on AI research. Multidisciplinary research institutions with AI-focused branches meeting these criteria are also eligible. Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in both Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) falling under this destination.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA).

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. The consortium should be composed of leading European AI research institutions.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes the EU and Associated Countries. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The target sector is Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a focus on advancing core AI capabilities, especially in frontier AI, and supporting fundamental AI research.

Mentioned Countries: China, EU, Associated Countries

Project Stage: The project stage is research and development, with an emphasis on pushing the technological frontiers of AI and driving scientific breakthroughs. The project aims to set up a network of excellent AI Labs, establish a model of cooperation, develop a strategic research agenda, and stimulate world-class research in AI.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic HORIZON-CL4-2026-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01 is EUR 17,000,000. The indicative number of grants is 1, implying that the funding amount per project is around EUR 17,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support their research and innovation activities.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rate cannot be determined from the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-CL4-2026-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01, aims to establish a network of excellent AI Labs in the EU and Associated Countries to strengthen European leadership in AI research. The call seeks proposals from consortia of leading European AI research institutions to pilot a network that collaboratively addresses fundamental AI research topics. The selected project will receive around EUR 17,000,000 in funding and is expected to develop a strategic research agenda, coordinate research efforts, implement a world-class AI research program, and foster collaboration with industry and other initiatives in the European AI landscape. The call supports the Apply AI Strategy and aims to ensure Europe's technological sovereignty in AI. Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate. The application deadline is April 15, 2026.