Demand-side 3C pilot demonstrators on converged Telco Edge Cloud Infrastructure (IA)
Overview
The EU funding opportunity titled "Demand-side 3C pilot demonstrators on converged Telco Edge Cloud Infrastructure (IA)" falls under the Horizon Europe program, specifically the HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-08 call. This call is forthcoming, with a planned opening date of November 17, 2026, and a submission deadline of March 18, 2027. The total budget for this initiative is €38 million, with two expected grants of approximately €19 million each.
The opportunity aims to validate open orchestration platforms across the telco-cloud edge continuum. The goal is to leverage artificial intelligence for enhancing the competitiveness of European businesses in key industries by creating innovative services and business models. It focuses on developing a sustainable ecosystem around 3C/telco-edge-cloud infrastructure, specifically targeting sectors like mobility, automotive, energy, smart communities, and industrial virtual worlds.
Eligible applicants include legal entities established in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The call encourages the participation of diverse stakeholders, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), scale-ups, and start-ups. A consortium-based approach is required, with participation from both demand-side user organizations and infrastructure supply-side partners to validate practical implementations of 3C networks.
The projects should demonstrate readiness for commercialization and should reach technology readiness levels of 6-8, moving from prototype validation to operational environment testing. Potential features to be developed include improved APIs, automation, security measures against quantum threats, and enhanced data governance. Proposals must align with existing EU initiatives, ensuring interoperability and compliance with data governance standards.
Success rates are anticipated to be low due to the competitive nature of the funding, possibly below 10-15%. Although co-funding is not formally required, leveraging additional resources from consortium members is encouraged.
Overall, this funding opportunity represents a strategic effort to promote digital sovereignty and industrial competitiveness within the EU while establishing an advanced and secure telecommunications infrastructure. The initiative is designed to facilitate the integration of innovative technologies into various sectors, ensuring that European businesses can thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
The opportunity aims to validate open orchestration platforms across the telco-cloud edge continuum. The goal is to leverage artificial intelligence for enhancing the competitiveness of European businesses in key industries by creating innovative services and business models. It focuses on developing a sustainable ecosystem around 3C/telco-edge-cloud infrastructure, specifically targeting sectors like mobility, automotive, energy, smart communities, and industrial virtual worlds.
Eligible applicants include legal entities established in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The call encourages the participation of diverse stakeholders, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), scale-ups, and start-ups. A consortium-based approach is required, with participation from both demand-side user organizations and infrastructure supply-side partners to validate practical implementations of 3C networks.
The projects should demonstrate readiness for commercialization and should reach technology readiness levels of 6-8, moving from prototype validation to operational environment testing. Potential features to be developed include improved APIs, automation, security measures against quantum threats, and enhanced data governance. Proposals must align with existing EU initiatives, ensuring interoperability and compliance with data governance standards.
Success rates are anticipated to be low due to the competitive nature of the funding, possibly below 10-15%. Although co-funding is not formally required, leveraging additional resources from consortium members is encouraged.
Overall, this funding opportunity represents a strategic effort to promote digital sovereignty and industrial competitiveness within the EU while establishing an advanced and secure telecommunications infrastructure. The initiative is designed to facilitate the integration of innovative technologies into various sectors, ensuring that European businesses can thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Detail
This EU funding opportunity is HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-08, titled "Demand-side 3C pilot demonstrators on converged Telco Edge Cloud Infrastructure (IA)". It falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the DIGITAL (HORIZON-CL4-2027-04) call. The action type is HORIZON-IA (HORIZON Innovation Actions), utilizing a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] Model Grant Agreement (MGA).
The call is forthcoming with a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is November 17, 2026, and the deadline for submission is March 18, 2027, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The topic budget for the year 2027 is 38,000,000 EUR, and the indicative number of grants to be awarded is 2, with contributions around 19,000,000 EUR.
The expected outcome is demand-side driven validation of open orchestration platforms across the telco-cloud edge continuum, unlocking the transformative value of AI for European businesses and driving business growth in strategic industries. It aims to enable sustainability and competitiveness in key vertical sectors by exploiting innovative features of 3C/telco-edge-cloud, including network features like API aggregation, slicing, automation, latency, security, ISAC, and reconfigurability. The demand pilots should have clear sector relevance, with one pilot addressing smart mobility and the automotive sector. The goal is to foster a vibrant ecosystem around 3C/telco-edge-cloud infrastructure, targeting SMEs and start-ups to develop innovative services, new business models, validation and marketplace exploitation strategies, and paths to commercialization or replicability.
The scope of the funding opportunity centers around "Connected, Collaborative, Computing (3C) Networks," which are defined as telco-edge-cloud, secure multi-provider, and multi-technology communication systems. These systems host network functions and workloads beyond connectivity, such as 6G, AI Storage/Compute, networking, and Security ISAC, as a service (aaS). Key features include programmability, fast service creation, security and privacy, mobility, and service continuity across inter-domain deployments. These networks aim to enable innovative use cases for an EU Digital Market by integrating communication, collaboration, and computing capabilities in competitive and sustainable business models, reinforcing EU competitiveness and contributing to digital sovereignty through the use of Open Internet Stack components. Resulting solutions should be available for use in the public sector.
The demand-side pilot demonstrators will build on the 3C Network large-scale pilot, integrating future domain-specific applications and services with an emerging European 3Cs/telco-edge-cloud infrastructure. Key features include security and privacy solutions offering resistance to emerging quantum threats (e.g., post-quantum cryptography), mobility, and service continuity across inter-domain and multi-cloud deployments and ecosystems.
Up to two pilot demonstrators are expected, focusing on specific verticals:
Mobility: Covering transport, logistics, and the automotive industry, supporting the strategy developed by the Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance, particularly Pillars 3 (AI models) and 5 (Large-scale testing).
Another Vertical Sector: Such as energy, smart communities, industrial virtual worlds, health, agrifood, or manufacturing.
These pilots should be driven by a consortium including partners from both the demand (user) and infrastructure supply side. The pilot demonstrators should take advantage of open application interfaces and explore AI, "virtual worlds," and other innovative technologies for practical implementation. They should leverage combined investments in network infrastructure, computing and connectivity infrastructure as an enabler for more extensive digital innovation, with cognitive cloud computing, swarm intelligence, generative AI and LLM, and XR/AR technologies being ranked most important.
Proposals should detail a robust data governance model addressing data sovereignty, interoperability with Common European Data Spaces, and alignment with Gaia-X principles. Clear mechanisms for secure and compliant data sharing between demand-side (users) and supply-side (infrastructure providers) are required to establish trust for a functional data economy on top of the 3C infrastructure.
Pilot demonstrators should showcase the evolution from virtualized and cloud-native network functions towards automated network operations, enabling agile and green IoT-edge computing solutions and decentralized intelligence. They should also demonstrate benefits for infrastructure providers to operate networks more efficiently and move beyond traditional connectivity-service models to higher value-added services.
Demonstrations should respond to the increasing processing power demands of AI through on-device integration and changes triggered by GenAI, affecting global communication infrastructures. Orchestration of workloads across the telco-cloud-edge continuum is crucial as AI becomes more resource-intensive.
The pilot demonstrators should consider user requirements from the advisory group and liaise with the collaboration and support action (CSA) funded under WP25 to bridge between the 3C/telco-edge-cloud supply pilot funded under WP25 and the demand pilots funded under WP26-27.
The pilots should exploit open APIs and open-source components developed by the supply side pilot, including capabilities to implement specific communication management services (e.g., Open RAN security, RIC VNF) and uptake existing standards and relevant open-source projects (e.g., Sylva, ANUKET, Nephio, CAMARA, etc.).
The pilot demonstrators should include testing, validation, and demonstration of prototypes of agile virtualized network functions combined with a ubiquitous mesh of integrated devices, computing and communication resources in operational environments. They should ensure security and privacy, protection against emerging quantum threats, energy efficiency, transparency, control of the ecological footprint, and sustainable artificial intelligence services.
The pilot demonstrators are expected to re-use existing open-source frameworks, providing key technology components for the operation of the 3C/telco-edge-cloud supply-side large-scale pilot. These open-source frameworks should be made available to the Open Internet Stack Support for Scale.
Proposals should ensure high participation from stakeholders in relevant vertical sectors, with particular attention to SMEs, scale-ups, and start-ups.
The pilots should establish strong relations and collaborate with complementary EU-funded research activities, such as the Smart Networks and Systems Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) projects, the “Empowering AI across the continuum” and the “Sovereign edge/cloud infrastructure” R&I areas, the PPP virtual worlds, CCAM partnership, and support of the SW-defined vehicle initiative under the Chips JU.
General conditions for participation include:
Admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits and layout, as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
Eligible countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries.
Other eligible conditions, including limitations on participation for entities controlled by non-eligible countries or those assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Application and evaluation forms, as well as the Model Grant Agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System.
Additional documents include:
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
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
The EU Funding & Tenders Portal provides resources for partners, including partner search announcements, a submission system, topic Q&As, and general support.
In summary, this funding opportunity aims to foster the development and validation of open, secure, and collaborative telco-edge-cloud infrastructures across Europe. It seeks to integrate AI and other innovative technologies into various vertical sectors, promoting digital sovereignty and economic growth while ensuring data security and interoperability. The focus is on creating a sustainable and competitive ecosystem involving SMEs, scale-ups, and start-ups, and aligning with broader EU research and innovation initiatives.
This opportunity is about creating and testing new ways to combine communication, computing, and collaboration technologies in a secure and efficient manner. Imagine building a super-smart network that can adapt to different needs, whether it's for self-driving cars, managing energy grids, or creating immersive virtual worlds. The EU wants to fund projects that can demonstrate how this network can boost European businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, and make sure Europe stays competitive in the digital world. The projects should also prioritize data security and work with existing European initiatives to build a strong and independent digital infrastructure.
The call is forthcoming with a single-stage deadline model. The planned opening date is November 17, 2026, and the deadline for submission is March 18, 2027, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The topic budget for the year 2027 is 38,000,000 EUR, and the indicative number of grants to be awarded is 2, with contributions around 19,000,000 EUR.
The expected outcome is demand-side driven validation of open orchestration platforms across the telco-cloud edge continuum, unlocking the transformative value of AI for European businesses and driving business growth in strategic industries. It aims to enable sustainability and competitiveness in key vertical sectors by exploiting innovative features of 3C/telco-edge-cloud, including network features like API aggregation, slicing, automation, latency, security, ISAC, and reconfigurability. The demand pilots should have clear sector relevance, with one pilot addressing smart mobility and the automotive sector. The goal is to foster a vibrant ecosystem around 3C/telco-edge-cloud infrastructure, targeting SMEs and start-ups to develop innovative services, new business models, validation and marketplace exploitation strategies, and paths to commercialization or replicability.
The scope of the funding opportunity centers around "Connected, Collaborative, Computing (3C) Networks," which are defined as telco-edge-cloud, secure multi-provider, and multi-technology communication systems. These systems host network functions and workloads beyond connectivity, such as 6G, AI Storage/Compute, networking, and Security ISAC, as a service (aaS). Key features include programmability, fast service creation, security and privacy, mobility, and service continuity across inter-domain deployments. These networks aim to enable innovative use cases for an EU Digital Market by integrating communication, collaboration, and computing capabilities in competitive and sustainable business models, reinforcing EU competitiveness and contributing to digital sovereignty through the use of Open Internet Stack components. Resulting solutions should be available for use in the public sector.
The demand-side pilot demonstrators will build on the 3C Network large-scale pilot, integrating future domain-specific applications and services with an emerging European 3Cs/telco-edge-cloud infrastructure. Key features include security and privacy solutions offering resistance to emerging quantum threats (e.g., post-quantum cryptography), mobility, and service continuity across inter-domain and multi-cloud deployments and ecosystems.
Up to two pilot demonstrators are expected, focusing on specific verticals:
Mobility: Covering transport, logistics, and the automotive industry, supporting the strategy developed by the Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance, particularly Pillars 3 (AI models) and 5 (Large-scale testing).
Another Vertical Sector: Such as energy, smart communities, industrial virtual worlds, health, agrifood, or manufacturing.
These pilots should be driven by a consortium including partners from both the demand (user) and infrastructure supply side. The pilot demonstrators should take advantage of open application interfaces and explore AI, "virtual worlds," and other innovative technologies for practical implementation. They should leverage combined investments in network infrastructure, computing and connectivity infrastructure as an enabler for more extensive digital innovation, with cognitive cloud computing, swarm intelligence, generative AI and LLM, and XR/AR technologies being ranked most important.
Proposals should detail a robust data governance model addressing data sovereignty, interoperability with Common European Data Spaces, and alignment with Gaia-X principles. Clear mechanisms for secure and compliant data sharing between demand-side (users) and supply-side (infrastructure providers) are required to establish trust for a functional data economy on top of the 3C infrastructure.
Pilot demonstrators should showcase the evolution from virtualized and cloud-native network functions towards automated network operations, enabling agile and green IoT-edge computing solutions and decentralized intelligence. They should also demonstrate benefits for infrastructure providers to operate networks more efficiently and move beyond traditional connectivity-service models to higher value-added services.
Demonstrations should respond to the increasing processing power demands of AI through on-device integration and changes triggered by GenAI, affecting global communication infrastructures. Orchestration of workloads across the telco-cloud-edge continuum is crucial as AI becomes more resource-intensive.
The pilot demonstrators should consider user requirements from the advisory group and liaise with the collaboration and support action (CSA) funded under WP25 to bridge between the 3C/telco-edge-cloud supply pilot funded under WP25 and the demand pilots funded under WP26-27.
The pilots should exploit open APIs and open-source components developed by the supply side pilot, including capabilities to implement specific communication management services (e.g., Open RAN security, RIC VNF) and uptake existing standards and relevant open-source projects (e.g., Sylva, ANUKET, Nephio, CAMARA, etc.).
The pilot demonstrators should include testing, validation, and demonstration of prototypes of agile virtualized network functions combined with a ubiquitous mesh of integrated devices, computing and communication resources in operational environments. They should ensure security and privacy, protection against emerging quantum threats, energy efficiency, transparency, control of the ecological footprint, and sustainable artificial intelligence services.
The pilot demonstrators are expected to re-use existing open-source frameworks, providing key technology components for the operation of the 3C/telco-edge-cloud supply-side large-scale pilot. These open-source frameworks should be made available to the Open Internet Stack Support for Scale.
Proposals should ensure high participation from stakeholders in relevant vertical sectors, with particular attention to SMEs, scale-ups, and start-ups.
The pilots should establish strong relations and collaborate with complementary EU-funded research activities, such as the Smart Networks and Systems Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) projects, the “Empowering AI across the continuum” and the “Sovereign edge/cloud infrastructure” R&I areas, the PPP virtual worlds, CCAM partnership, and support of the SW-defined vehicle initiative under the Chips JU.
General conditions for participation include:
Admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits and layout, as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
Eligible countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries.
Other eligible conditions, including limitations on participation for entities controlled by non-eligible countries or those assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Application and evaluation forms, as well as the Model Grant Agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System.
Additional documents include:
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
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
The EU Funding & Tenders Portal provides resources for partners, including partner search announcements, a submission system, topic Q&As, and general support.
In summary, this funding opportunity aims to foster the development and validation of open, secure, and collaborative telco-edge-cloud infrastructures across Europe. It seeks to integrate AI and other innovative technologies into various vertical sectors, promoting digital sovereignty and economic growth while ensuring data security and interoperability. The focus is on creating a sustainable and competitive ecosystem involving SMEs, scale-ups, and start-ups, and aligning with broader EU research and innovation initiatives.
This opportunity is about creating and testing new ways to combine communication, computing, and collaboration technologies in a secure and efficient manner. Imagine building a super-smart network that can adapt to different needs, whether it's for self-driving cars, managing energy grids, or creating immersive virtual worlds. The EU wants to fund projects that can demonstrate how this network can boost European businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, and make sure Europe stays competitive in the digital world. The projects should also prioritize data security and work with existing European initiatives to build a strong and independent digital infrastructure.
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Breakdown
Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are legal entities established in Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The proposals should ensure a high degree of participation of stakeholders from the relevant vertical sectors, with a particular attention to the involvement of SMEs, scale-ups and start-ups. The call is looking for consortia including partners both from the demand (user) and infrastructure supply side.
Funding Type: The funding type is a HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Action grant.
Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. The consortium should include partners from both the demand (user) and infrastructure supply side.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Target Sector: The target sectors are digital, data, AI, telecommunications, cloud computing, edge computing, 6G, transport, logistics, automotive, energy, smart communities, industrial virtual worlds, health, agrifood, and manufacturing.
Mentioned Countries: Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, United Kingdom, EU Member States.
Project Stage: The project stage is demonstration, validation, and marketplace exploitation. The call aims to validate open orchestration platforms and innovative services, new business models, and paths to commercialization or replicability.
Funding Amount: The budget for the HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-08 topic is 38,000,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 2 grants. This suggests an approximate funding range of around 19,000,000 EUR per grant.
Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call.
Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant.
Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.
Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants suggests that the success rate is likely to be below 10%.
Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.
Summary:
This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-08, aims to foster demand-side driven validation of open orchestration platforms across the telco-cloud edge continuum. The goal is to unlock the transformative value of AI for European businesses and drive business growth in strategic industries. The call encourages projects that enable sustainability and competitiveness in key vertical sectors by exploiting innovative features of 3C/telco-edge-cloud infrastructure. Projects should leverage network features like API aggregation, slicing, automation, latency, security, ISAC, and reconfigurability to improve the performance of digital communications.
The call expects up to two pilot demonstrators, one focusing on smart mobility (including automotive) and another on a different vertical sector (e.g., energy, smart communities, industrial virtual worlds, health, agrifood, or manufacturing). Projects should be driven by a consortium including partners from both the demand (user) and infrastructure supply side. The call emphasizes the importance of data governance, interoperability with Common European Data Spaces, and alignment with initiatives like Gaia-X. Projects should also demonstrate the evolution towards automated network operations and benefits for infrastructure providers. The call encourages the use of open APIs, open-source components, and participation of SMEs, scale-ups, and start-ups. The total budget for this call is 38 million EUR, and it is expected to fund approximately two projects. Eligible applicants are legal entities from EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The application deadline is March 18, 2027.
Funding Type: The funding type is a HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Action grant.
Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. The consortium should include partners from both the demand (user) and infrastructure supply side.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Target Sector: The target sectors are digital, data, AI, telecommunications, cloud computing, edge computing, 6G, transport, logistics, automotive, energy, smart communities, industrial virtual worlds, health, agrifood, and manufacturing.
Mentioned Countries: Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, United Kingdom, EU Member States.
Project Stage: The project stage is demonstration, validation, and marketplace exploitation. The call aims to validate open orchestration platforms and innovative services, new business models, and paths to commercialization or replicability.
Funding Amount: The budget for the HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-08 topic is 38,000,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 2 grants. This suggests an approximate funding range of around 19,000,000 EUR per grant.
Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call.
Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant.
Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.
Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants suggests that the success rate is likely to be below 10%.
Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.
Summary:
This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-08, aims to foster demand-side driven validation of open orchestration platforms across the telco-cloud edge continuum. The goal is to unlock the transformative value of AI for European businesses and drive business growth in strategic industries. The call encourages projects that enable sustainability and competitiveness in key vertical sectors by exploiting innovative features of 3C/telco-edge-cloud infrastructure. Projects should leverage network features like API aggregation, slicing, automation, latency, security, ISAC, and reconfigurability to improve the performance of digital communications.
The call expects up to two pilot demonstrators, one focusing on smart mobility (including automotive) and another on a different vertical sector (e.g., energy, smart communities, industrial virtual worlds, health, agrifood, or manufacturing). Projects should be driven by a consortium including partners from both the demand (user) and infrastructure supply side. The call emphasizes the importance of data governance, interoperability with Common European Data Spaces, and alignment with initiatives like Gaia-X. Projects should also demonstrate the evolution towards automated network operations and benefits for infrastructure providers. The call encourages the use of open APIs, open-source components, and participation of SMEs, scale-ups, and start-ups. The total budget for this call is 38 million EUR, and it is expected to fund approximately two projects. Eligible applicants are legal entities from EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The application deadline is March 18, 2027.
Short Summary
Impact The opportunity seeks to fund demand-side driven validation of open orchestration platforms across the telco-cloud edge continuum, unlocking the transformative value of AI for European businesses and driving business growth in strategic industries. | Impact | The opportunity seeks to fund demand-side driven validation of open orchestration platforms across the telco-cloud edge continuum, unlocking the transformative value of AI for European businesses and driving business growth in strategic industries. |
Applicant Consortia combining infrastructure providers, end-user organizations from target vertical sectors, research institutions, and SME/start-up innovators are needed to demonstrate mature technology readiness and clear pathways to vertical sector adoption. | Applicant | Consortia combining infrastructure providers, end-user organizations from target vertical sectors, research institutions, and SME/start-up innovators are needed to demonstrate mature technology readiness and clear pathways to vertical sector adoption. |
Developments The funding will support projects focused on the demonstration and validation of Connected, Collaborative, Computing (3C) Networks, specifically targeting telco-edge-cloud infrastructure and its applications in various vertical sectors. | Developments | The funding will support projects focused on the demonstration and validation of Connected, Collaborative, Computing (3C) Networks, specifically targeting telco-edge-cloud infrastructure and its applications in various vertical sectors. |
Applicant Type Eligible applicants include research organizations, universities, enterprises (including SMEs and large companies), public-private partnerships, and other legal entities established in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. | Applicant Type | Eligible applicants include research organizations, universities, enterprises (including SMEs and large companies), public-private partnerships, and other legal entities established in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. |
Consortium This opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants, including partners from both the demand-side (user organizations) and infrastructure supply-side. | Consortium | This opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants, including partners from both the demand-side (user organizations) and infrastructure supply-side. |
Funding Amount The total budget for this topic is €38,000,000, with an expected number of 2 grants, each approximately €19,000,000. | Funding Amount | The total budget for this topic is €38,000,000, with an expected number of 2 grants, each approximately €19,000,000. |
Countries Eligible applicants are from EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, reflecting a focus on EU/EEA and associated countries. | Countries | Eligible applicants are from EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, reflecting a focus on EU/EEA and associated countries. |
Industry This funding targets the digital and telecommunications sectors, specifically focusing on telco-edge-cloud infrastructure, AI, and connected mobility. | Industry | This funding targets the digital and telecommunications sectors, specifically focusing on telco-edge-cloud infrastructure, AI, and connected mobility. |
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Apply AI: Next-Generation Agile and Intelligent Robotics Platforms for Industrial and Service Applications (Partnership in AI, Data and Robotics) (RIA)
Call for ProposalForthcoming
The Horizon Europe opportunity titled HORIZON-CL4-2026-05-DIGITAL-EMERGING-03 focuses on the development of next-generation agile and intelligent robotics platforms for both industrial and service...
April 15th, 2026
Innovative tools and business models
Call for ProposalOpen
The Creative Europe Programme has launched a call for proposals titled "Innovative tools and business models" under the identifier CREA-MEDIA-2026-INNOVBUSMOD. This initiative aims to support...
January 15th, 2026