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Europe: funding calls and deadlines closing soon (week of 19 October 2026)

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By TrustList Editorial

Calls for software, AI, robotics and mobility firms closing by the end of November across France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and EU programmes, with deadlines, eligibility and amounts as each funder states them.

About Europe: funding calls and deadlines closing soon (week of 19 October 2026)

Europe: funding calls and deadlines closing soon (week of 19 October 2026)

19 October 2026: Fourteen calls and rule changes for European software, AI, robotics and mobility companies fall due between now and the end of November, starting with a French car-industry investment call that closes at noon Paris time on 20 October. Each was read on its own page today; amounts and deadlines are given as the funder states them.

Not yet independently verified. Several call pages give no publication date, and the EU portal data for DeepRAP and I3 gives deadlines without a time zone; we give each deadline exactly as its page states it. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

France: cars, telecoms and cross-border R&D

Invest auto 2 (France 2030, run by Bpifrance) supports investment to produce tomorrow's road vehicles and their components in France, across five strands: main vehicle components, charging and refuelling systems for battery and hydrogen vehicles, supplier diversification, the environmental performance of production, and assembly of zero-emission vehicles. Companies of any size can apply, with eligible spending of at least €1 million for a single company and €2 million for a collaborative project. Aid is part grant, part recoverable advance. The page says the call is open "jusqu'au 20 octobre 2026 à 12h00 (midi, heure de Paris)".

Eureka CELTIC-NEXT (telecoms and ICT): project proposals are due on the cluster site by 26 October 2026, with the national Bpifrance filing at the same time. A French company and a partner from another Eureka country are required; French SMEs and mid-caps can ask for €50,000 to €3 million in innovation aid or an unsecured loan.

France-Taiwan joint R&D: the window runs from 1 June to 30 October 2026 for consortia with at least one French and one Taiwanese company working on space, smart technology (semiconductors, AI, telecoms), smart manufacturing, materials and biotech, or green energy. French SMEs and mid-caps can request €50,000 to €3 million.

Eureka ITEA (software innovation): project outlines are due by 2 November 2026, for consortia of at least two partners from two countries; the same French funding band applies.

France-Germany (ZIM): joint proposals from a French company and an independent German SME are due "avant le 18 novembre 2026 inclus", by email to both agencies plus a request in the applicant's Bpifrance space. No partner may hold more than 70% of the person-months in a two-partner project.

Germany: robotics and chip design challenges

SPRIND Next Frontier Robotics closes on 22 October 2026 at 18:00 CEST. SPRIND calls it its "second biggest challenge with 90M€" and offers up to €7.2 million per team as a fixed-price contract, across four stages. Teams applying to both tracks file two separate forms, and SPRIND asks teams to aim to incorporate a company before the challenge starts.

SPRIND AI-Native Chip Design runs "until November 30, 2026, at 11:00 (CET)", with up to €9.6 million per team over two stages: up to €2.6 million for an eight-month first stage and up to €7.0 million for a twelve-month second stage.

Ireland, Italy and Luxembourg

Research Ireland Global Challenges: Disruptive Technologies: full applications close on 3 November 2026 at 01:00 Irish time, for up to €500,000 in direct costs per Irish applicant. Only academic researchers at an eligible Irish host can lead, so companies take part as collaborators.

Brevetti+ (Italy, Invitalia) opens rather than closes: applications start at 12:00 on 25 November 2026 and stay open until the €20 million budget runs out. Italian micro, small and medium enterprises can receive a non-repayable grant of up to €140,000 to bring patents to market.

Fit 4 programmes (Luxembourg, Luxinnovation) changed their rules on 13 October: Fit 4 Innovation becomes Fit 4 Performance, Fit 4 Digital now pays for deeper studies such as data management, automation analysis and ERP specifications, and a new Fit 4 Cybersecurity runs with the Luxembourg House of Cybersecurity. Companies of every size can now apply, at subsidy rates of 70% for small, 60% for medium and 50% for large firms, for aid above €1,000 and up to €100,000 per project.

EU-wide programmes

EIC Pathfinder Challenge DeepRAP (deep reasoning, abstraction and planning for trustworthy cognitive AI) closes on 28 October 2026 in a single stage. The portal data expects eight grants of €500,000 to €4 million each.

EIC Accelerator: the next cut-off is "4 Nov 2026, 00:00 (CET)". It funds companies, principally SMEs and start-ups, with a mix of grant and equity.

Interregional Innovation Investments, Strand 1 (I3-2026-INV1) closes on 12 November 2026, with €28.2 million for 2026 project grants aimed at digitalisation, manufacturing technologies and adoption by SMEs.

EIT Urban Mobility, Financial Support to Startups has its fourth cut-off on 16 November 2026 at 17:00 CET, offering up to €2.5 million per company. Applicants need an active pre-seed, seed or Series A round, a prototype or MVP, a pre-money valuation no higher than €50 million, and founders or executives holding more than 40% of the equity.

EIT Culture & Creativity, New Ventures in Creative Tech (Spark) closes on 16 November 2026 at 17:00 CET: up to €30,000 per concept, for up to 35 concepts, plus nine months of incubation, for teams without a company yet working on materials and the built environment.

Last week's edition, for the week of 12 October, covers the Enterprise Ireland DTIF call and the Digital Europe cascade calls that are still open.

Sources

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