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Europe: funding calls and deadlines closing soon (week of 5 October 2026)

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By TrustList Editorial

Funding calls for software, AI, cybersecurity and deep-tech firms closing in the next six weeks across Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Finland, Spain and EU programmes, with deadlines, eligibility and amounts as each funder states them.

About Europe: funding calls and deadlines closing soon (week of 5 October 2026)

Europe: funding calls and deadlines closing soon (week of 5 October 2026)

5 October 2026 — Our weekly round-up of funding calls for software, AI, cybersecurity and deep-tech companies in Europe that close in the next six weeks, to 16 November 2026. Each call was read on its own page today; deadlines and amounts are given as the funder states them. Defence and dual-use calls are left out.

Not yet independently verified. Each call was read on its funder's page or the EU portal on 5 October 2026 (read dates are used where pages carry none). Several EU portal records give a closing date without a time; check the call page before submitting. Eligibility for the SPRIND microbial challenge was not readable on its page. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Germany

  • SPRIND, "Measuring with Entanglement" (quantum sensing) challenge. Teams must be incorporated by the start of Stage 1 or show credible intent to incorporate; selection sessions in Leipzig are in person. Deadline: 9 November 2026, 12:00 CET. Funding up to €545,000 in Stage 1, €1,050,000 in Stage 2 and €1,680,000 in Stage 3, for up to ten, eight and four teams.
  • SPRIND, "Engineering Microbial Consortia" challenge (AI-driven design of microbial consortia for biomanufacturing). Deadline: 16 November 2026, 11:00 CET. Up to €4.3 million per team over three stages, on fixed-price contracts.
  • Already covered: the BMDS digital tech-to-product call (closes 11 October) and the SPRIND health-data and robotics challenges (16 and 22 October). SPRIND's AI-native chip design challenge closes on 30 November, just outside this window.

Italy

  • MIMIT top-up for the Digital Europe call on digital solutions for regulatory compliance using data. For Italian participants in the EU call DIGITAL-2026-AI-DATA-10-COMPLIANCE. National application deadline: 30 October 2026, 17:00. National budget €1 million, contributions up to 50% of eligible costs.
  • Voucher for cloud computing and cybersecurity services for SMEs and the self-employed. Pre-filling opens at 12:00 on 20 October 2026; applications run from 12:00 on 10 November 2026 to 12:00 on 20 January 2027. Total €150 million; grants up to 50% of eligible spending, maximum €20,000, minimum spending plan €4,000.
  • Scoperta imprenditoriale II (R&D in less-developed regions): opens at 10:00 on 7 October 2026, total €505.8 million, projects of €1 million to €5 million. No closing date stated.

Slovakia and Finland: cybersecurity grants for SMEs

Both are national calls under the EU's Digital Europe Programme, run by the countries' national cybersecurity coordination centres.

  • Slovakia: support for implementing security monitoring (SIEM) in SMEs. For SMEs registered in Slovakia (micro-enterprises excluded). Deadline: 19 October 2026, 23:59 (no time zone given). Aid intensity 90%, grants €10,000 to €40,500, budget €1.75 million.
  • Finland: support for commercialising innovative cybersecurity solutions. For Finnish micro, small and medium enterprises with high-maturity products. Deadline: 4 November 2026, 23:59. €10,000 to €100,000 per project, 30% own financing, budget €700,000.

Spain

  • Red.es and ICEX: Spain pavilion at 4YFN 2027 (Barcelona, 1 to 4 March 2027). For Spanish startups and organisations that support them. Applications until 28 October 2026. Up to 48 exhibitor places; this is exhibition space and programme support, not a cash grant.

EU-wide

  • Chips Joint Undertaking, AI chip demonstrators for EU compute infrastructure (DIGITAL-JU-CHIPS-2026-AI1-SG): 27 October 2026 (extended from 23 September). €10 million, about ten grants of €500,000 to €1 million. A companion call for an AI compute evaluation platform (€50 million to €70 million, one grant) closes the same day.
  • EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2026, including "DeepRAP: deep reasoning, abstraction and planning towards trustworthy cognitive AI systems": 28 October 2026, single stage. About eight grants per topic of €500,000 to €4 million.
  • EIT AI Entrepreneurs Lab for master's and PhD students and graduates with an AI or robotics idea: 21 October 2026, 17:00. Up to five €10,000 prizes and a bootcamp.
  • Interregional Innovation Investments (I3), strands 1 and 2a, including digital priorities: 12 November 2026. Budgets €28.2 million and €30.2 million.
  • Already covered: EIC Accelerator full applications (4 November), Luxembourg Business Partnership Facility (31 October), France's Étincelles programme (9 October) and Écoiden call (29 October), Czechia's Sigma call (27 October) and Lithuania's AI factory call (14 October).

Correction to note: the EuroHPC AI Gigafactories call for tenders now closes on 3 December 2026 at 17:00 Luxembourg time, according to a corrigendum on the EU portal; some Commission pages still show 12 November.

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