Fe/male Switch: Your Startup Facilitator & Incubator for Women
2025-05-22 15:38 Top 20

Top 20 Grants for AI Startups in 2025: A Comprehensive Guide

Top 20 Grants for AI Startups in 2025: A Comprehensive Guide

As the AI landscape continues to evolve, 2025 presents a myriad of funding opportunities for innovative AI startups. From European grants to global initiatives, here's a detailed look at the top 20 grants available for AI startups in 2025, including eligibility criteria, funding amounts, and links to official sources.
Write FREE SEO-optimized Blog Articles! Our Article Writer ensures your blog is loved by both Google and your readers, turning those clicks into customers.

👉 Write your article here

1. EIC Accelerator

Description: Supports startups and SMEs with groundbreaking products or services with the potential to disrupt markets.
Eligibility: Startups and SMEs from EU Member States or associated countries.
Funding: Grants up to €2.5 million, with equity investments ranging from €0.5 to €10 million.
Link: EIC Accelerator

2. EIC Pathfinder

Description: Funds visionary, multi-disciplinary research projects with breakthrough potential.
Eligibility: Research teams from EU Member States or associated countries.
Funding: Grants up to €4 million.
Link: EIC Pathfinder

3. EIC Transition

Description: Supports projects transitioning from research results to market-ready innovations, particularly following EIC Pathfinder or Horizon Europe results.
Eligibility: Projects stemming from EIC Pathfinder or Horizon Europe.
Funding: Grants up to €2.5 million.
Link: EIC Transition
Boost Your SEO by listing your startup and get a FREE backlink.

Create a profile in the F/MS Startup Game, add the link to your website and submit.

👉 List your startup now!

4. EIT Urban Mobility Financial Support for Startups

Description: Funds innovative urban mobility solutions by startups.
Eligibility: Startups from RIS countries and others.
Funding: Up to €2 million per company.
Link: EIT Urban Mobility

5. Horizon Europe – Digital Europe Programme

Description: Funds SMEs and startups focusing on AI, cybersecurity, and digital skills.
Eligibility: SMEs and startups in relevant fields.
Funding: Varies based on project specifics.
Link: Digital Europe Programme

6. Horizon Europe – Innovation Fund

Description: Supports startups and SMEs developing climate-neutral solutions.
Eligibility: Startups and SMEs in climate-neutral sectors.
Funding: Varies by project.
Link: Innovation Fund

7. EIC Challenges 2025

Description: Funds startups and SMEs tackling specific challenges in advanced materials, low-emission systems, generative AI, and more.
Eligibility: Startups and SMEs in designated challenge areas.
Funding: €50 million per challenge.
Link: EIC Challenges

8. Lean AI Startup Funding (LAISF)

Description: Provides support for research-driven AI ideas to validate business models and develop prototypes.
Eligibility: Pre-incorporation AI business ideas without parallel funding.
Funding: Scholarships to validate business models.
Link: hessian.AI
Boost Your SEO with 1,500+ Free Business Directories: increase your DA, get backlinks and traffic.

We've compiled an exclusive list of directories and websites where you can submit your business and start building high-quality backlinks to boost your website traffic and get your SEO snowball rolling.

👉 Submit your startup now!

9. Cooperative AI Foundation Research Grants

Description: Funds research projects focused on cooperative AI.
Eligibility: Research projects specialized in cooperative AI.
Funding: Not specified.
Link: Cooperative AI

10. UKRI Technology Missions Fund (via Innovate UK BridgeAI Programme)

Description: Funding for AI projects that assist small businesses and education tools.
Eligibility: Small businesses in the UK.
Funding: £7 million for AI projects, plus £1 million for educational tools.
Link: Innovation Funding Service

11. AI Climate Accelerator Program

Description: A 12-week program to assist founders in adapting to climate tech market demands.
Eligibility: Startups focused on climate and nature initiatives.
Funding: Small stipends of about $10,000 per team.
Link: fundsforngos.org

12. EIC STEP (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform)

Description: Provides equity investments and acceleration services in strategic tech sectors.
Eligibility: SMEs and startups in strategic technologies.
Funding: Equity investments offered.
Link: EIC STEP

13. Cyber Security Academic Startup Accelerator Programme (CyberASAP)

Description: Funding for cyber security innovations from UK academic institutions.
Eligibility: Individuals based in UK academic settings.
Funding: A share of up to £800,000.
Link: Innovation Funding Service
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.

We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.

👉 Get featured now!

14. Techstars

Description: A global accelerator with a focus on diverse sectors, including AI.
Eligibility: Startups across various industries.
Funding: $120,000 for 6% equity.
Link: Techstars Application

15. Y Combinator (YC)

Description: A premier startup accelerator supporting AI companies.
Eligibility: Open to innovators across multiple sectors.
Funding: $500,000 for 7% equity and additional SAFE funding.
Link: Apply to Y Combinator

16. 500 Global

Description: Focuses on early-stage startups aiming for global reach, including AI companies.
Eligibility: Early-stage innovative startups.
Funding: $150,000 for 6% equity.
Link: 500 Global Application

17. Plug and Play Tech Center

Description: A global innovation platform that connects startups with corporates.
Eligibility: Startups across various sectors.
Funding: Varies, with some programs not requiring equity.
Link: Plug and Play Application

18. AI2 Incubator

Description: Supports entrepreneurs addressing challenges in the AI domain.
Eligibility: Innovators with scalable AI concepts.
Funding: Potential funding and mentorship available.
Link: startupsavant.com

19. StartX

Description: An accelerator for startups, particularly those linked to Stanford University.
Eligibility: Startups seeking hands-on support in various domains including AI.
Funding: Not specified; resources and mentoring provided.
Link: plerdy.com

20. Betaworks Accelerator Program

Description: Supports tech innovation, including in the AI sector.
Eligibility: Startups with potential for innovation.
Funding: Varies based on specific program offerings.
Link: portkey.ai
Join F/MS: Startup Facilitator & Incubator and unlock your startup dreams today! Get your first customers, register you company in the Netherlands and get startup visas for the team.

FAQ

Q: What is the EIC Accelerator and how can I apply?
A: The EIC Accelerator supports highly innovative startups and SMEs with the potential to disrupt markets, offering grants up to €2.5 million and equity investments from €0.5 to €10 million. Learn more about EIC Accelerator.
Q: Who is eligible for the Horizon Europe – Digital Europe Programme?
A: This program is designed for SMEs and startups working on AI, cybersecurity, and advanced digital skills, providing funding that varies by project. Discover more about the Digital Europe Programme.
Q: What type of projects does EIT Urban Mobility Financial Support for Startups fund?
A: EIT Urban Mobility offers funding for innovative urban mobility solutions, with grants up to €2 million available for early and growth stage companies. Learn more about this funding opportunity.
Q: Can you tell me more about the Lean AI Startup Funding (LAISF)?
A: The LAISF program provides scholarships for pre-incorporation AI businesses to validate their business models and develop prototypes. Find out more about LAISF.
Q: What does the AI Climate Accelerator Program offer to startups?
A: This program provides early-stage startups focused on climate challenges with stipends of around $10,000 USD, helping them find product-market fit. Explore the AI Climate Accelerator Program.
Q: Who can apply for the Cooperative AI Foundation Research Grants?
A: These grants are available for research projects specifically focusing on cooperative AI, although the funding details are not specified. Learn more about Cooperative AI grants.
Q: What is the UKRI Technology Missions Fund?
A: The UKRI Technology Missions Fund, via Innovate UK’s BridgeAI Programme, provides funding for small businesses in the UK, offering a total of £7 million for AI projects and an additional £1 million for AI education tools. Check out the UKRI Technology Missions Fund.
Q: What types of startups are supported by the EIC Challenges 2025?
A: The EIC Challenges 2025 focuses on startups working on advanced materials, low-emission food systems, generative AI, space tech, and future mobility, with €50 million allocated per challenge. Find out more about EIC Challenges 2025.
Q: What does 500 Global offer to startups?
A: The 500 Global accelerator invests $150,000 for 6% equity in early-stage startups while providing a founder-focused curriculum and mentorship. Learn more about 500 Global.
Q: What is the focus of the EIC Transition funding program?
A: The EIC Transition program supports projects emerging from EIC Pathfinder or Horizon Europe results, aiding in turning research into market-ready innovations, with grants up to €2.5 million. Discover the EIC Transition program.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.