EU AI Grants: How to Fund Your Project in 2026

Most small business owners think custom AI software is a big‑company thing. Like owning a company jet. It isn’t, and that assumption is simply wrong.

Across the EU there’s real AI funding for small businesses. A whole stack of grants and vouchers, built to get companies like yours using the technology. Scope a project well and public funding covers 50% to 85% of the bill. This isn’t theory. In Latvia, small companies have already filed dozens of applications for AI grants.

So here’s what a small company can actually reach this year, with real examples of who already took it. Two programs do the heavy lifting, and both are run by your national innovation agency. That agency is the simplest way in. The examples here are from Latvia, but your own country runs the same kinds of schemes under different names.

How to fund an AI project: EU grants and vouchers

The two programs stack. The voucher proves the idea is worth building. The grant then pays to build it. Start with the voucher.

Start small: the innovation voucher (€25,000, 85% paid)

The lightest way in is an innovation voucher. In Latvia, LIAA’s classic voucher pays up to 85% of the cost, capped at €25,000.¹ So a €25,000 piece of work costs you about €3,750 out of your own pocket.

A voucher answers the question most companies need to settle first. Can AI actually solve this problem in my business? You find out with a feasibility study or a small prototype, before you bet real money on a full build.

You don’t need to be a tech company to use one. Take Minku, a Latvian business that runs therapeutic exercise classes for kids in schools. It used LIAA vouchers to test and build a parent‑facing app that spots posture problems early.² A small services company trying out a digital idea. That’s exactly what the voucher is for.

And Minku isn’t a one‑off. According to LIAA, the agency has signed more than 320 voucher contracts of all kinds since 2017, and most of the budget is already committed.³ This is a well‑worn path, not an experiment.

Never used public funding before? Start here. You learn how the whole process works on something small and low‑risk.

Step up: the digitalisation grant for an AI build

Once the test works and you’re ready to build the real thing, the next step is a digitalisation grant. In Latvia that’s the Digitalisation Support Program. The most it pays is €200,000.⁴

In practice, a focused AI build for a small company costs somewhere between €20,000 and €80,000. Think of a working system your team uses every week, not a one‑off demo. The grant pays half the cost: 50% for a small company, 40% for a medium‑sized one. You pay the full invoice first, then the grant refunds its half, somewhere between €10,000 and €40,000 on a project that size. Your own cost is the other half.

This is the tier that funds a real build. Zippy Vision is the kind of company LIAA points to here. It’s a Latvian firm that used state support to build AI‑driven wood‑sawing equipment, cutting material waste on every cut.⁴ Not a chatbot. Not a Silicon Valley moonshot. A traditional business that put AI into the thing it already does, and got public money to do it.

Watch one number, though. Some summaries, including parts of LIAA’s own English‑language pages, list 30% as the “SME rate”. That’s wrong for a small business. The 30% rate is for bigger mid‑sized firms that are too large to count as an SME. A genuine small business gets 50% or 40%.⁴ Check your own rate against the current rules before you set a budget.

According to LIAA, the program has a €18.5 million budget. By mid‑2026, €5.4 million of it was already reserved, and 66 of the 285 applications were for AI work, worth about €4.28 million.⁴ It’s paid for with EU regional development money, the ERDF.

Is your SME eligible for EU AI funding?

Here’s a quick gut check. You’re probably eligible if most of these are true:

• You’re a registered SME. As a rough guide, that means under 250 staff and under €50 million in annual turnover.⁵
• The project is something new for your business, not your normal day‑to‑day work.
• You can cover your share and pay the bills up front. The grant arrives later, as a refund.
• Your sector qualifies. Software is almost always fine. Some programs exclude straight retail, finance or real estate.
• You have no serious tax debt.

If most of those fit, there’s a good chance something here suits your next project.

One catch for the research vouchers

Voucher eligibility is the lightest of all. A registered company with no real tax debt is in. The one exception is the vouchers for deeper R&D work. Those ask you to partner with a research institution, such as a university. Lighter work, like a feasibility study or a design, can still use an ordinary private supplier.

How to apply for an EU AI grant

The process is more boring than hard.

Find the right programme

Every program is listed on your national innovation agency’s website. In Latvia that’s business.gov.lv, where both the vouchers and the digitalisation grant live.

Match a real project to a live call

A “call” is simply an open funding round with a deadline. This step is where most applications are won or lost. Funders pay for a clear, specific result with a budget and a deadline. They don’t fund good intentions dressed up with a buzzword. Write your project up plainly, and submit it before the call closes.

Mind the moving deadlines

Deadlines and budgets change constantly. Always confirm the current dates on the official page before you trust any number you read elsewhere, mine included.

How we can work together

A grant pays for the project. It doesn’t write the code or ship the result. That part’s on me.

The projects that fit these schemes are the ones I build. The document and email handling that quietly eats your week. A support assistant that actually knows your business. The workflow automation nobody finds time to set up. An AI feature inside the product you already sell.

Turning a vague “we should use AI” into a fundable project, with a real number attached, is the hard part. I help turn AI ideas and software builds into real, working solutions. Where it fits, I can shape the project for a funding program and then build it, which makes adopting AI far more affordable.

If it sounds worth exploring, book a short call. Together we’ll put a realistic figure on it and outline a version of the project that could get funded. You walk away with a clear next step, whether or not we end up working together.

Sources and notes

These figures are snapshots. Amounts, co‑funding rates and deadlines change, so confirm the current numbers on the official pages before you apply.