Budget
Funding rate: 100% (equity-free) Budget conditions / limitations: Up to €55,000 per startup: €10,000 for the Inception Stage, €40,000 for the Piloting Stage, €5,000 bonus for Demo Day participation. Total call budget is €440,000 to support up to 17 startups (only 6 will advance to the Piloting Stage).
Key dates and deadline
Deadline: 29/01/2026
Details
Open Horizons will run three open calls from 2025 to 2027. Each one is an opportunity for women-led deeptech and digital startups to: - access funding, - co-create pilot projects with major European corporates, - scale their solutions with real-world backing. €1.2 million of total funding distributed across 39 women-led startups: - Up to €55,000 equity-free funding. - Direct collaboration with a European corporate. - Tailored mentoring from experts and business coaches. - Visibility across the European innovation ecosystem. - Access to future investors and commercial pathways. 6-month programme divided into a 1-month Inception Stage and a 5-month Piloting Stage, with an optional 3-month follow-on phase.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be women-led startups, legally established for 6 months to 6 years. - The woman must be a founder or co-founder holding a top management role (CEO, CTO, etc.), and own at least 25% of the company’s shares. - Must be established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. - Must be early-stage startups with less than €1 million in equity raised. - Startups must operate in the digital or deep-tech domains as defined by Horizon Europe. - Must qualify as SMEs under EU definitions.
Additional information
Applicants must address one of 17 clearly defined corporate challenges. These span areas such as: Quantum computing for electromagnetics, Smart robotics for painting, Industrial decarbonisation, IoT predictive maintenance, Cybersecurity for OT/IoT, Water management and circular economy, AI-based defect detection and predictive lead generation, Smart tags and sensors, Biosurfactants and green chemicals, Smart retail, and more.
How to apply?
https://www.openhorizonsproject.eu/open-calls/