AI chip demonstrators for EU compute infrastructure
Funding for EU fabless companies to develop and demonstrate AI chip prototypes integrated with systems and validated on EU platforms.
This call supports EU fabless companies to create functional AI chip prototypes. These prototypes must be integrated with system partners and validated on a common EU evaluation platform. Selected solutions may receive an AI Compute Excellence label and advance to full rack development.
Likely relevant for
- EU fabless semiconductor companies
- AI hardware developers
- System integration partners
- Research institutions in AI chip design
Project signals
What it funds
- Development of functional AI chip prototypes at PCB level
- Physical integration of AI chips with system partners
- Validation of AI chip solutions on a common EU evaluation platform
- Comparative performance evaluation of AI chip prototypes
- Awarding AI Compute Excellence label to selected solutions
- Qualification for full rack development under related topics
Expected outcomes
- Working AI chip demonstrators designed by EU fabless companies
- Validated AI chip solutions with comparative KPI evidence
- Shortlist of AI chip solutions awarded AI Compute Excellence label
Who can apply / participate
- EU fabless semiconductor companies
- System integration partners
- Research organizations involved in chip design
- Check specific consortium requirements in call documents
- Applicants must be from eligible EU countries or associated states as per call conditions
- Refer to call documents for detailed eligibility criteria including financial and operational capacity
- Exact consortium size and composition requirements
- Specific country eligibility list
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility of applicant types and countries
- Consortium requirements if any
- Specific evaluation criteria and thresholds
Money
Total budget of approximately €10 million for 2026, funding 10 grants between €500,000 and €1,000,000 each.
- Total budget for 2026 — 10000000EURDistributed across up to 10 grants
- Minimum grant amount — 500000EURPer grant
- Maximum grant amount — 1000000EURPer grant
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model.
- Proposal page limits and layout detailed in Part B of Application Form
- Appendix 8 of Chips JU Workprogramme
- Ownership Control Declaration form template
- National Budgets Table template
- Guide for applicants
- Template of Application Form and Evaluation Form
- Chips JU Multiannual Work Programme
- PAB decision on evaluation and selection procedures
- Rules for legal entity validation and financial capacity
- Annotated Model Grant Agreement
- DEP Regulation 2021/964 and EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
- Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual and Terms and Conditions
- Prepare proposal following page limits and layout requirements
- Submit proposal via Funding & Tenders Portal before deadline
- Use provided templates and guides for application
- Contact Calls@chips-ju.europa.eu for questions
- Refer to IT Helpdesk for technical submission issues
- Check eligibility conditions carefully
- Follow all submission guidelines strictly
- Deadline extended to October 27, 2026
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 1 Sep 2026, 11:22 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
Related calls
These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.
Official source text
Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.
Topic description
Expected Outcome: The expected outcomes of this topic are : Functional demonstrators of working AI chip prototypes (PCB-level) designed by EU fabless companies and physically integrated with their system partners. Validation of AI chip solutions on a common EU evaluation platform (provided by the Topic X.B consortium), delivering comparative evidence on key performance indicators. A shortlist of European AI chip solutions awarded the AI Compute Excellence label and qualified to proceed to full rack development under Topic X.A2.
Conditions and documents
Conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
Proposal page limits and layout: detailed in Part B of the Application Form, which you can access from the Call documents section on the Chips JU website's Call page
The following information are all described in the Appendix 8 of the Chips JU Workprogramme
2. Eligible countries
3. Other eligibility conditions
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
Specific Call Documents
Ownership Control Declaration form template
National Budgets Table template (xls)
Guide for applicants - DIGITAL-JU-CHIPS-2026-AI1-SG
Template of Application Form - DIGITAL-JU-CHIPS-2026-AI1-SG
Template of Evaluation Form - DIGITAL-JU-CHIPS-2026-AI1-SG
General Call Documents
Chips JU Multiannual Work Programme
PAB decision on the evaluation and selection procedures related to Calls for Proposals
Annotated Model Grant Agreement for EU Funding Programmes 2021-2027
Call document and annexes:
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Additional documents:
Support information
For any questions related to this call please contact: Calls@chips-ju.europa.eu Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – Submission of proposals . IT Helpdesk – Contact the IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. Online Manual – Step-by-step online guide through the Portal processes from proposal preparation and evaluation to reporting on your ongoing project. Valid for all 2021-2027 programmes.
Raw budget overview
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