The European Commission has announced the introduction of a new funding instrument for 2026: the EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges (AIC).
What is the EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges?
The EIC Advanced Innovation Challenges (AIC) is a new pilot funding instrument introduced in 2026 aiming to support breakthrough deep tech innovations through a structured, staged process. It bridges the “Death Valley” where risky innovations often fail due to commercial insufficiency.
What is the strategic thinking behind the AICs?
The EIC is focused on 4 key objectives:
- To bring forward technology from under-commercialised research fields.
- To provide dedicated support for high-risk, deep-tech innovation that has strong commercial potential.
- To ensure market relevance by encouraging demand-side integration, meaning users are involved from the very beginning.
- To maximize impact and the probability of a breakthrough innovation by using a portfolio-based selection of projects.
What are its core mechanisms?
The programme operates on 4 core principles inspired by the DARPA model:
- Program manager-driven for strategic coherence.
- Stage-gated funding model (testing concepts before major investments).
- Portfolio-based selection for diversity and strategic coherence.
- Demand-side user integration from the start for market relevance.
Two-Stage Process of the AICs
- Stage 1: Solution design phase; up to €300k lump sum, 9 months duration, covering 100% of eligible costs, €4 million budget in 2026. Requires participation in workshops and end-user involvement.
- Stage 2: Prototyping and user testing; up to €2.5 million lump sum, 2.5 years duration, €25 million budget allocated in 2027. Includes access to Business Acceleration Services (BAS).
Eligibility: Who can apply for the AICs?
Early Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 projects with validated concepts.
Applicants: Startups, SMEs, research organizations; large companies may apply only as part of small consortia (up to 3 independent entities).
Stage flexibility allows team evolution and adding partners for stage 2.
Evaluation Criteria
For Stage 1, your proposal will be evaluated against 3 criteria:
- Excellence (60%),
- Impact (20%),
- Quality and efficiency of implementation (20%).
Proposals must pass the thresholds for each criteria to be considered by the portfolio selection panel.
Focus Areas for 2026
- Disruptive AI (robotics for civil security, autonomous labs, personal assistance).
- New approach methodologies to reduce animal testing in biomedical research (e.g., organ-on-chip, digital twins).
- User commitment via letters of support encouraged.
Timeline
Stage 1 opens November 15, 2025, submission deadline April 2026, project starts by October 1, 2026.
To find out more
If you want to learn more about the AICs, watch our webinar presented by Aracelia Tamariz, our Head of Life Sciences & IP Lead:
