GRAIL Open Call — Genesis (1st Open Call)

GRAIL Genesis is a Horizon Europe cascade funding open call seeking third-party projects that provide robotics data, data collection methods, or data-collection tools to contribute to a European foundational robotics model. The call has a total budget of €1,000,000, expects to select at least 10 projects and offers fixed lump sums of up to €100,000 per selected project, with successful projects taking part in an eight-month support and mentoring programme. Applications are single-stage, must be submitted via the GRAIL Open Call application platform, and the deadline is 10 February 2027 at 17:00 Brussels time. Eligible applicants are individual legal entities (for example SMEs, startups, mid-caps, large companies, or research and technology organisations) and must consult the full call documentation for final rules on eligibility, intellectual property, data governance, and payment conditions.

What it funds

Scope

Cascade funding to accelerate data generation, data-collection tooling and integration with the GRAIL project (development, data acquisition and integration with the GRAIL Foundational Robotics Model).

Who can apply

Key administrative facts

The GRAIL project aims to validate a general-purpose Foundational Robotics Model across multiple industrial use cases (automotive, aerospace, intralogistics, steel, electronics); funded third-party projects must demonstrate contribution to data generation, model fine-tuning or industrial adoption.

Footnotes

1. 1Apply and submit through the official GRAIL Open Call application platform: opportunities.getonepass.eu. Official opportunity page: EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Call title GRAIL Open Call Genesis (1st Open Call). Project Generative Robotics & AI for EU Industrial Leadership (GRAIL), Grant agreement number 101298421. Call identifier HORIZON-CL4. This is a cascade funding multi-topic open call under a Horizon-funded project aiming to accelerate data generation, model fine-tuning and industrial adoption for a European Foundational Robotics Model (GFRM).

Key facts and timeline

Eligible applicant types

Beneficiaries must be individual legal entities (not consortia) acting as data providers and/or data-collection-tool developers. Eligible applicant types explicitly listed in the call text are SMEs, startups, mid-caps, large companies, and Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs). The call excludes multi-partner proposals; each selected entity participates individually as beneficiary.

Funding type and financial terms

Consortium and application format

Geographic eligibility and programme context

The call is part of the Horizon programme (Framework Programme 2021-2027) and the GRAIL project. The scraped call text does not explicitly list eligible countries. As a Horizon cascade open call, the call is administered under Horizon programme rules; applicants should consult the open call platform and official call documents for exact country/association eligibility (for example EU Member States and Horizon-associated countries where applicable).

Target sectors, thematic scope and technical focus

The call targets the intersection of robotics, generative AI, data acquisition and industrial automation. The GRAIL project aims to build a European general-purpose Foundational Robotics Model (GFRM) validated across five industrial use cases: automotive, aerospace, intralogistics, steel and electronics. The Genesis open call specifically looks for entities acting as data providers and/or developers of data collection tools to support data generation and model development for robotics and industrial automation.

Project stage and expected activities

Submission and evaluation process

Submission must be done via the official GRAIL Open Call application platform. The selection process comprises six steps: Eligibility Check, Pre-scoring (if needed), Independent Evaluation, Consensus Meeting and Pitching, Formal Check, and Sub-Grant Agreement (SGA) signature. The deadline model is single-stage, meaning applicants submit a full proposal by the stated deadline and will not pass through a separate stage for full proposals after an initial shortlisting.

Application type and how to apply

Nature of support and co-funding

Application stages and decision points

Success rates and selection numbers

The call will select at least 10 projects from the open call applicants. The scraped documentation does not provide historical success rates or expected number of applications, so an overall success rate cannot be calculated from the provided information.

Templates, application form structure and required materials

The open call uses a platform submission form; the scraped source does not include detailed template fields. Typical required elements for cascade open calls under Horizon include: administrative data about the legal entity, project description and workplan structured across the three support stages, deliverables / milestones, budget justification or cost plan aligned to the fixed lump sum, evidence of technical capacity for data provision or data-collection tool development, CVs or profiles of key personnel, and declarations required by the Sub-Grant Agreement. Applicants must consult the platform for the exact form structure, mandatory annexes and templates 1.

Mentioned countries and geographic references

The call text does not explicitly list individual countries. The opportunity is published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal under the Horizon programme (Framework Programme 2021-2027), which normally covers EU Member States and Horizon-associated countries; applicants should check the open call platform and official documents for precise country/association eligibility.

Other administrative and reference details

Comprehensive summary

This opportunity is the Genesis (1st) Open Call under the GRAIL project, a Horizon-funded initiative to create a European general-purpose Foundational Robotics Model and accelerate industrial adoption across automotive, aerospace, intralogistics, steel and electronics. The Genesis open call provides cascade funding in the form of fixed lump-sum sub-grants of up to €100,000 per selected individual entity to support data provision and data-collection tool development. The programme funds at least 10 projects from a €1,000,000 pool. Participation consists of an 8-month Support and Mentoring Programme divided into three stages covering mentoring and project design, technology development and data acquisition, and integration with GRAIL data and technology. Applications are single-stage and must be submitted via the GRAIL Open Call application platform. Selection follows a six-step process from eligibility check to SGA signature. Geographic eligibility is governed by Horizon programme rules and should be verified on the official platform and call documents. Applicants should prepare detailed technical descriptions of their data provision or data-collection tools, a stage-by-stage plan aligned to the 8-month schedule, and any documentation requested by the platform. For platform access and application submission, see the Open Call Application Platform 1.

Contact and application links available on the project pages and the Open Call Application Platform 1.

Footnotes

1. 1Open Call Application Platform and GRAIL project information available via the GRAIL project links on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and the dedicated application platform: opportunities.getonepass.eu

Opportunity summary

GRAIL Genesis is a Horizon Europe cascade funding opportunity supporting third party projects that contribute data, data collection methods, and data collection tools for the development of the GRAIL general purpose foundational robotics model. The call is intended to expand and democratise robotics data and support practical routes to future industrial validation and adoption. 1

The call is implemented under the Horizon Europe project Generative Robotics and AI for EU Industrial Leadership, project acronym GRAIL, grant agreement number 101298421. It is linked to the Horizon Europe topic Robust and trustworthy GenerativeAI for Robotics and industrial automation. 2

Key facts

Who can apply

Eligible applicants are individual entities acting as data providers and or developers of data collection tools. The opportunity description identifies the following possible applicant categories: SMEs, startups, mid caps, large companies, and research and technology organisations. 1

The call is therefore suitable for organisations that can independently deliver a defined contribution to robotics data generation, multimodal data capture, data acquisition infrastructure, or related tools supporting the GRAIL model. Consortium applications are not indicated in the published opportunity description. Applicants should verify the detailed call guide for the final rules on legal establishment, country eligibility, linked entities, subcontracting, financial capacity, and participation restrictions before applying. 1

Targeted project activities

Genesis focuses on data expansion and democratisation. The official GRAIL project information identifies practical methods for generating new robotics data, including crowd sourced multimodal data, data capture using commonly available devices, incentive or gamification mechanisms, low cost capture tools, and new data collection approaches. 3

Potential project contributions may include the following activities:

Industrial and technical context

GRAIL aims to develop a European general purpose foundational robotics model. The wider project plans to validate results in automotive, aerospace, intralogistics, steel, and electronics use cases. Genesis is the first of three planned open calls, followed by Ascent and Summit, and contributes primarily to data generation and expansion before later industrial validation and scaling activities. 13

Funding terms

The financial support is a fixed lump sum of up to €100,000 per selected project. The published description does not present the amount as a reimbursement of actual eligible costs or as a percentage funding rate. Applicants should consequently formulate a clearly deliverable based work plan and budget rationale rather than relying on reimbursement of individually evidenced expenditure. The detailed sub grant agreement and call documentation should be checked for payment milestones, deliverable acceptance, treatment of delays, and any conditions for reducing or recovering the lump sum. 1

The maximum call budget of €1,000,000 corresponds to ten awards of €100,000 if all selected projects receive the maximum amount. The actual number of awards and amounts may depend on proposal quality, scope, and the final funding decisions. 1

Programme structure

Application and selection process

Applications must be submitted through the official GRAIL open call application platform rather than directly through the standard European Commission proposal submission interface. Applicants should create an account early, review the platform form, and allow time for technical submission checks before the deadline. 1

The published selection process contains six steps:

The pitching stage means that applicants should be prepared to explain the project clearly to evaluators, including the data or tool contribution, technical feasibility, implementation plan, relevance to GRAIL, expected impact, and capacity to complete the work within eight months. The official summary does not publish the detailed evaluation weighting, scoring thresholds, pitch format, or tie breaking rules, so these should be taken from the full call guide and application platform instructions. 1

Applicant requirements and preparation

A competitive application should address the following elements:

Data protection and intellectual property considerations

Because Genesis supports robotics data generation and acquisition, proposals should address personal data, image and video capture, location information, worker or participant data, confidential industrial information, and third party intellectual property where relevant. The applicant should demonstrate appropriate consent, lawful processing, anonymisation or pseudonymisation, access controls, retention arrangements, and data sharing permissions. Specific requirements should be confirmed in the call guide and sub grant agreement. 1

Applicants should also clarify ownership and licensing of collected datasets, annotations, software, hardware designs, models, and other results. The proposal should distinguish pre existing assets from results created through the project and explain which rights GRAIL requires for integration, validation, research, and future exploitation. The published summary does not provide the definitive intellectual property terms. 1

Strategic assessment

This is most relevant to organisations that already possess robotics data, operate a data rich environment, can recruit participants for data collection, or can develop affordable and scalable collection equipment. It may be less suitable for a project focused only on a finished robotics product without a meaningful data generation or data collection component.

The fixed lump sum and eight month duration favour narrowly scoped projects with demonstrable outputs and an early route to integration. Applicants should avoid proposals that depend on lengthy fundamental research, uncertain equipment procurement, untested access to industrial environments, or extensive regulatory approvals that cannot be completed within the programme period.

The wider GRAIL programme plans to fund more than 40 third party projects through three sequential open calls and more than €10 million in third party support. Genesis is the smaller initial call, with at least 10 projects and a €1 million budget, focused on expanding the data foundation for later development and industrial validation. 3

Application checklist

Overall conclusion

GRAIL Genesis offers up to €100,000 in fixed lump sum support for individual companies and research and technology organisations that can deliver practical robotics data or data collection capabilities. The strongest applications are likely to combine a well defined data or tool output, credible access to collection environments or participants, strong data governance, measurable integration value, and a realistic eight month delivery plan. Final eligibility, evaluation, payment, intellectual property, and geographic participation rules must be confirmed in the full official call documentation before submission. 1

Sources

Official EU Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity record

1

Horizon Europe topic and GRAIL project identification

2

Official GRAIL project open call information

3

Footnotes

1. 1EU Funding and Tenders Portal, GRAIL Open Call, Genesis First Open Call: EU Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity
2. 2EU Funding and Tenders Portal record identifying the Horizon Europe topic HORIZON-CL4, project GRAIL, and grant agreement number 101298421: Official EU call record
3. 3GRAIL project information on the three open calls, Genesis focus, number of projects, and wider third party funding: GRAIL open call information