Metatron Marketing · AI agents for your company · 04.11.2026
AI funding programmes in Germany
Your company has a site in Germany and you want to put AI to work? Many programmes pay up to half the cost. Here are all 37, checked every day.
Example: your AI project costs €60,000. A programme with a 50% grant pays €30,000, your share is €30,000.
- Pick your state: you see amount, deadline and official source.
- We work out with you which programme fits your project and write the project description for the application.
- We build the AI agents that deliver the project. The first conversation is free, then a fixed price based on effort.
- Federal26 days left · 30.11.2026
Generative KI in den Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften (GSW)
Grant for research projects on generative AI in the humanities and social sciences.
- Federalcut-off dates
Förderrichtlinie IPCEI Künstliche Intelligenz (IPCEI-AI)
Grant for research and development on next-generation AI within the European joint project.
- Federalongoing
ERP-Förderkredit Digitalisierung und Innovation (KfW 511)
Promotional loan for digitalisation projects in which AI adoption explicitly plays a role.
- Federalongoing
ERP-Förderkredit Innovation (KfW 513)
Promotional loan for investments and working capital in AI research and development.
- Federalongoing
KI4Energy
Grant for research projects using AI for the energy transition; submission at any time.
- Federaldeadline see source
Innovative Prozesse durch KI (InProKI)
Grant for pre-competitive joint projects bringing AI into production and value-creation processes.
Amount: Verbundförderquote maximal 50 Prozent (Richtlinie)
- Federaldeadline see source
KI-Servicezentrum KISSKI
AI services, advice and training from the KISSKI service centre; federal funding per project page until 12/2026.
- Federaldeadline see source
ModuS-KI
Grant for joint AI projects; sketch deadline 22 May 2026 has passed, current status unconfirmed.
- Baden-Württembergongoing
Digitalisierungsfinanzierung (L-Bank)
Subsidised loan via your house bank with repayment grant; tier 3b covers AI digitalisation.
Amount: Kredit 10.000 € bis 5 Mio. €, größere Unternehmen bis 25 Mio. €; Tilgungszuschuss KMU Stufe 3b 2,0 %
- Bavaria422 days left · 31.12.2027
Digitalbonus Bayern
Grant for small businesses digitalising products, processes and services; robotics and AI are funded more strongly.
- Berlinongoing
Pro FIT (Programm zur Förderung von Forschung, Innovationen und Technologien)
Grants and loans for research and development projects, including AI or ML methods.
Amount: Darlehen bis zu 1 Mio. EUR und Zuschüsse bis zu 500.000 EUR; Finanzierungsanteil bis zu 80 %
- Bremendeadline see source
Digitaler Mittelstand KI
Grant for digitalisation projects focused on AI, such as AI-based analysis, planning and automation systems.
Amount: 40 % (Kleinst-/kleine Unternehmen, Soloselbstständige), 30 % (mittlere), höchstens 17.000 Euro; Gründungen unter 12 Monaten höchstens 5.000 Euro
- Hamburgongoing
Hamburg-Kredit Innovation
Low-interest loan via your house bank for innovation projects; AI projects fall in the highest tier.
Amount: Darlehensbetrag 25.000 bis zu 2.500.000 €; 50 % Haftungsfreistellung
- Hessedeadline see source
Distr@l (Digitalisierung der hessischen Wirtschaft)
Grant for digital research and innovation projects, including AI; new outlines for lines 1, 2 and 4 are currently not accepted.
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomeraniadeadline see source
Förderung der Anwendung von Künstlicher Intelligenz (De-minimis-Richtlinie)
Grant for introducing AI solutions in companies with up to 100 employees.
Amount: 50 % der zuwendungsfähigen Ausgaben, höchstens 50.000 Euro je Vorhaben
- Lower Saxonyongoing
Förderung der Inanspruchnahme von Forschungsinfrastruktur - Innovationsgutschein
SMEs get a voucher to use research institutions and their equipment for innovation projects.
- Lower Saxonyongoing
Innovationsförderprogramm für Forschung und Entwicklung in Unternehmen (IFP)
Lower Saxony funds company R&D projects, including AI, with a grant.
- Lower Saxonyongoing
Niedrigschwelliges Innovationsförderprogramm für KMU und Handwerk (nIFP)
Lower Saxony funds small innovation projects of SMEs and crafts, including AI, with a grant.
- North Rhine-Westphaliadeadline see source
NRW.BANK.Impuls KI
NRW.BANK finances AI use in companies with loans; according to the bank no applications are currently possible.
- Rhineland-Palatinateongoing
Betriebsberatungsprogramm Rheinland-Pfalz (158)
Rhineland-Palatinate subsidises business consulting, expressly including digitalisation and artificial intelligence.
- Rhineland-Palatinateongoing
InnoTop (358)
Rhineland-Palatinate funds innovative company development projects with a grant.
- Rhineland-Palatinateongoing
Innovationsassistenten (245 I)
Rhineland-Palatinate subsidises hiring specialists for SME innovation projects; AI is named.
- Rhineland-Palatinateongoing
Innovationsgutschein (255)
Rhineland-Palatinate subsidises SME R&D contracts with universities.
Amount: Zuwendung für FuE-Aufträge an Hochschulen max. 20.000 Euro
- Rhineland-Palatinateongoing
Investitionen und Beschäftigung / Innovation (IBI-EFRE, 361)
Rhineland-Palatinate grants EFRE funds for company investment in digitalisation and innovation.
- Saxonyongoing
Digitalisierungsdarlehen (Digi-D)
Saxony offers low-interest loans for SME digital transformation, combinable with the digitalisation grant.
Amount: 30.000 bis 250.000 Euro
- Saxonyongoing
Förderrichtlinie Digitalisierung Zuschuss EFRE 2021 bis 2027 (Digi-Z)
Saxony grants funds for SME digitalisation projects; AI is not in the guideline text; some regions have an application stop.
Amount: Heranführung bis 60 %; Transformation bis 50 % (klein) bzw. 35 % (mittel)
- Saxony-Anhalt12 days left · 16.11.2026
Digital Innovation (Richtlinien Digital And Creative Economy)
Saxony-Anhalt grants funds for SME digital innovation; the next procedure starts on 16 November 2026.
Amount: Zuschuss bis zu 50 %, max. 70.000 Euro; Berater max. 6.000 Euro
- Saxony-Anhaltongoing
Forschung und Entwicklung (FuE-Richtlinien Sachsen-Anhalt)
Saxony-Anhalt grants funds for company research and development projects.
- Saxony-Anhaltongoing
IB-Digitalisierungsdarlehen 2021-2027
Saxony-Anhalt offers loans for SME digitalisation projects.
- Thuringiaongoing
InnoInvest
Thuringia grants funds for investment in digitalisation and decarbonisation with a clear innovation element.
- EUongoing
EIC Accelerator
Grant below EUR 2.5 million plus equity of EUR 1 to 10 million for startups and SMEs with innovations.
Amount: Zuschuss unter 2,5 Mio. EUR (TRL 6-8); Investition 1-10 Mio. EUR; Budget 2026: 220 Mio. EUR Challenges, 414 Mio. EUR Open
- EUongoing
EuroHPC AI Factories: Zugang für Startups und KMU (Playground, Fast Lane)
Startups and SMEs get computing time and support at AI Factories, in Germany JAIF (JUPITER) and HammerHAI.
- EUongoing
European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH), Digital Europe Programme
Hubs in Germany give SMEs test-before-invest, financing advice and training in digital technologies.
- EUdeadline see source
AI Factory Antennas
Antennas in 13 countries connect further states to AI Factories; none in Germany, access runs via the German AI Factories.
- EUdeadline see source
EIC Transition
Grant up to EUR 2.5 million to validate and demonstrate research results; next call spring 2027.
Amount: bis 2,5 Mio. EUR; Booster-Zuschuss bis 50.000 EUR
- EUdeadline see source
InvestEU: EIF-Garantieprodukte für KMU über Banken
The EIF guarantees bank loans for SMEs, including innovation and digitalisation; apply through a participating bank.
- EUdeadline see source
Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEF) für KI
Four European test facilities trial AI solutions in agrifood, health, manufacturing and cities under real conditions.
–
Terms used in the programmes
- Grant (Zuschuss)
- Money you do not pay back.
- Loan with repayment grant
- A loan where part of the debt is waived.
- De minimis
- EU cap on state aid: at most €300,000 per company over three years.
- ERDF (EFRE)
- EU regional development fund; the states hand out the money.
- Joint project (Verbundprojekt)
- A project by several partners, often a company and a university, with one application.
- TRL
- Technology readiness level from 1 (idea) to 9 (in use).
New in the federal funding database
New programmes of the last 60 days with a digital or AI focus, from the database feed (German).
- Förderung für Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojekte zur Digitalen Automatischen Kupplung (DAK) - Modul 2 Sonderfall für DAK--Digitalen Automatischen Kupplung-Pionierzüge (PioDAK)
- Förderung innovativer Pflanzenschutzmaßnahmen und Pflanzenschutzverfahren
- Förderung einer zukunftsfähigen Regionalentwicklung durch Innovationssysteme und Nachhaltigkeit (EFRE – RegioInn2030)
- Förderung von Innovationen in der Holzverwendung und der holzbasierten Bioökonomie (Holz Innovativ Programm – HIP)
- Themenspezifische Förderung von Forschungsprojekten zur Weiterentwicklung der Versorgung in der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung
- Förderung der Europäischen Innovationspartnerschaft „Landwirtschaftliche Produktivität und Nachhaltigkeit“ (EIP AGRI-Richtlinie)
- Förderung interdisziplinärer Forschungsverbünde zu Pathomechanismen postinfektiöser Erkrankungen
- Zuwendungen für Innovative Unternehmensgründungen (InnoStartBonus)
- Förderung der Stärkung von Forschung, technologischer Entwicklung und Innovation an staatlichen Hochschulen (EFRE FEIH--Forschung, Entwicklung und Innovation an Hochschulen 2021–2027)
- Förderung für den Einbau und die Erprobung der Digitalen Automatischen Kupplung (DAK) - Modul 1 (PioDAK)
- Förderung im Rahmen des Niedersächsischen Innovationsförderprogramms für Forschung und Entwicklung in Unternehmen
We build agentic AI.