Challenge-Driven GenAI4EU Booster (RIA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership)
HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-DIGITAL-EMERGING-09
Funding Amount
Amount not specified
Deadline
02/10/2025
Eligible Organization Types
Non-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution
Trusted by
What is the Challenge-Driven GenAI4EU Booster (RIA) (AI/Data/Robotics Partnership) Call?
Grant Description
This call addresses the need to drive rapid innovation and trustworthy adoption of generative artificial intelligence in Europe’s strategic sectors of aerospace, pharmaceutical drug development and telecommunication networks. It supports the organisation of multi-stage AI challenge competitions that engage startups and small and medium-sized enterprises to develop pre-competitive AI prototypes for real-world industry use-cases, with technical and data support from core industry partners. Expecte...
Required Results for Successful Funding
Expected Outcomes
– Achieve significant technology progress and innovation in aerospace, pharma/drug development or telecommunications networks via a challenge-driven Gen AI approach.
– Boost competitiveness and visibility of Europe’s Generative AI community by demonstrating capability to solve high-impact, sector-specific challenges.
– Drive increased adoption of Generative AI in the targeted sectors through tangible results produced in the multi-stage competition process.
– Deliver pre-competitive Gen AI solutions co-developed with industry, accompanied by exploitation plans and industry commitments.
– Integrate and strengthen SME/start-up involvement, providing business and technical support to create sustainable growth and follow-on investments.
– Establish standardised methodologies (KPI frameworks, evaluation criteria, benchmarks) for future Gen AI competitions and applications.
– Foster formal collaboration across parallel projects to optimise economies of scale in challenge organisation, monitoring, dissemination and exploitation.
– Enhance EU strategic autonomy in digital technologies by aligning with the ADRA partnership, Gen AI 4 EU initiative and relevant international and regional R&I efforts.
– Boost competitiveness and visibility of Europe’s Generative AI community by demonstrating capability to solve high-impact, sector-specific challenges.
– Drive increased adoption of Generative AI in the targeted sectors through tangible results produced in the multi-stage competition process.
– Deliver pre-competitive Gen AI solutions co-developed with industry, accompanied by exploitation plans and industry commitments.
– Integrate and strengthen SME/start-up involvement, providing business and technical support to create sustainable growth and follow-on investments.
– Establish standardised methodologies (KPI frameworks, evaluation criteria, benchmarks) for future Gen AI competitions and applications.
– Foster formal collaboration across parallel projects to optimise economies of scale in challenge organisation, monitoring, dissemination and exploitation.
– Enhance EU strategic autonomy in digital technologies by aligning with the ADRA partnership, Gen AI 4 EU initiative and relevant international and regional R&I efforts.
Funded areas
Scope Requirements
– Sector focus: each proposal must address exclusively aerospace, pharma/drug development or telecommunications and clearly state the chosen sector.
– Consortium composition: include user-industry companies from the targeted sector as core partners demonstrating genuine interest and commitment to exploitation.
– Competition framework: define and organise a three-stage challenge (open call, FSTP-funded development, consortium-integrated grand finale).
– Budget allocation: €5 million reserved for Stage 1 grants on FSTP; €8 million reserved for Stage 3 grants within the initial grant. Propose rationale and distribution plan.
– Data provision: consortium must supply the data necessary to fine-tune Gen AI models addressing industry-specific use-cases.
– Methodology: include clear specifications of stage deliverables, selection criteria, evaluation processes, timelines, targets and both qualitative and quantitative KPIs (including efficiency gains from Gen AI).
– Support services: technical assistance, business coaching, exploitation strategy development for all challenge participants.
– Exploitation plan: include a draft plan with industry commitments for future exploitation of pre-competitive results.
– Visibility and outreach: define dissemination and communication strategy, seek sponsorships to attract top EU and associated-country SMEs and start-ups.
– Collaboration: plan formalised cooperation with other funded actions in this call (sharing best practices, joint monitoring, communication activities).
– Platform reuse: build on and reuse public results from prior projects; share communicable results via AI-on-demand and other relevant digital platforms.
– Partnership alignment: allocate tasks for activities with the ADRA partnership and CSA HORIZON-CL 4-2025-03-HUMAN-18 (Gen AI 4 EU central Hub).
– Synergies: identify and plan collaborations with relevant international, European, national or regional initiatives and projects specific to the chosen sector.
– Eligibility: participation limited to entities in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland and the UK; high-risk supplier restrictions and security guarantees apply.
– Consortium composition: include user-industry companies from the targeted sector as core partners demonstrating genuine interest and commitment to exploitation.
– Competition framework: define and organise a three-stage challenge (open call, FSTP-funded development, consortium-integrated grand finale).
– Budget allocation: €5 million reserved for Stage 1 grants on FSTP; €8 million reserved for Stage 3 grants within the initial grant. Propose rationale and distribution plan.
– Data provision: consortium must supply the data necessary to fine-tune Gen AI models addressing industry-specific use-cases.
– Methodology: include clear specifications of stage deliverables, selection criteria, evaluation processes, timelines, targets and both qualitative and quantitative KPIs (including efficiency gains from Gen AI).
– Support services: technical assistance, business coaching, exploitation strategy development for all challenge participants.
– Exploitation plan: include a draft plan with industry commitments for future exploitation of pre-competitive results.
– Visibility and outreach: define dissemination and communication strategy, seek sponsorships to attract top EU and associated-country SMEs and start-ups.
– Collaboration: plan formalised cooperation with other funded actions in this call (sharing best practices, joint monitoring, communication activities).
– Platform reuse: build on and reuse public results from prior projects; share communicable results via AI-on-demand and other relevant digital platforms.
– Partnership alignment: allocate tasks for activities with the ADRA partnership and CSA HORIZON-CL 4-2025-03-HUMAN-18 (Gen AI 4 EU central Hub).
– Synergies: identify and plan collaborations with relevant international, European, national or regional initiatives and projects specific to the chosen sector.
– Eligibility: participation limited to entities in EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland and the UK; high-risk supplier restrictions and security guarantees apply.
Additional Conditions for Applicants
Special Conditions
– Submission: single-stage model; opening 10 June 2025, deadline 2 October 2025, 17:00 Brussels time via the Funding & Tenders Portal.
– Grant type: HORIZON-RIA, budget-based MGA; grants to third parties via derogation up to €250 000 per solution.
– Collaboration agreement: required among selected projects post-Grant Agreement signature to coordinate best practices and joint activities.
– Award criteria and thresholds: proposals will be ranked by excellence, impact and implementation; funding awarded by ranking but ensuring at least one top proposal per sector if thresholds met.
– Country restrictions: entities directly or indirectly controlled by non-eligible countries must provide guarantees; high-risk telecom equipment suppliers (per EU restrictions) cannot participate.
– Budget distribution: Stage 1 third-party grants (€5 million) and Stage 3 grants (€8 million) must follow the defined equal share and eligibility rules.
– Compliance: adhere to Horizon Europe General Annexes (A-G), page limits, layout rules, and financial and operational capacity requirements.
– Security: prevent access by non-eligible entities to sensitive project information; IP rights must remain with recipients in eligible countries unless approved otherwise.
– Pre-competitive results: maintain pre-competitive nature; exploitation commitments must not compromise this requirement.
– Cohesion activities: mandatory tasks with the ADRA partnership and Gen AI 4 EU central Hub CSA.
– Grant type: HORIZON-RIA, budget-based MGA; grants to third parties via derogation up to €250 000 per solution.
– Collaboration agreement: required among selected projects post-Grant Agreement signature to coordinate best practices and joint activities.
– Award criteria and thresholds: proposals will be ranked by excellence, impact and implementation; funding awarded by ranking but ensuring at least one top proposal per sector if thresholds met.
– Country restrictions: entities directly or indirectly controlled by non-eligible countries must provide guarantees; high-risk telecom equipment suppliers (per EU restrictions) cannot participate.
– Budget distribution: Stage 1 third-party grants (€5 million) and Stage 3 grants (€8 million) must follow the defined equal share and eligibility rules.
– Compliance: adhere to Horizon Europe General Annexes (A-G), page limits, layout rules, and financial and operational capacity requirements.
– Security: prevent access by non-eligible entities to sensitive project information; IP rights must remain with recipients in eligible countries unless approved otherwise.
– Pre-competitive results: maintain pre-competitive nature; exploitation commitments must not compromise this requirement.
– Cohesion activities: mandatory tasks with the ADRA partnership and Gen AI 4 EU central Hub CSA.
Important dates
Open from: 10/06/2025
Deadline:02/10/2025
Application period has ended
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