Overview
The Business Research, Development and Innovation Incentive System (R&D&I) is designed to support co-promotion operations, fostering cooperation between SMEs, small mid-caps, large companies, and Research and Innovation System Entities (ENESII).
This call aims to finance integrated investments spanning from research to production and/or the market introduction of new products, processes or services, thereby strengthening productive innovation and business competitiveness.
Nature and Aid Intensity
Support is granted in the form of a non-repayable grant.
Applicable Legislation
Eligible Expenditure
The following costs are considered eligible, provided they are incurred from 1 January 2025 onwards and are directly related to the implementation of the project:
- Acquisition of equipment and components demonstrably required for the integration of artificial intelligence solutions into existing processes;
Acquisition of software, including Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription costs Software as a Service;
- Recruitment costs related to the hiring of up to two technicians or platform managers dedicated to the implementation and operationalisation of the project, for a period of up to 24 months, capped at €80,000 per job created;
- Acquisition of consultancy and/or training services essential to the integration of the AI solutions;
- Costs related to the intervention of certified accountants or statutory auditors for the validation of expenditure in payment requests, capped at €2,500;
- Other costs directly related to the development of the project.
Eligible Actions
The following project typologies are supported:
AI Solutions for Productivity Ready-to-use tools, such as:
- Software and SaaS subscriptions;
- Virtual assistants for task management;
- Automated document analysis tools;
- Predictive analytics systems for maintenance.
The following project typologies are supported: AI Solutions for Productivity Ready-to-use tools, such as: Tools aimed at improving interaction with clients and partners or optimising internal processes, such as:
- Customer service chatbots;
- Product recommendation systems;
- Sales forecasting tools;
- Customer sentiment analysis;
- AI-powered inventory optimisation tools.
Beneficiaries and Geographical Scope
The following may apply: micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), within the NUTS II regions.