Accelerating Physical AI: Embodied Intelligence for the Next Frontier of AI-Powered Robotics

Personnel costs

Equipment and materials for prototyping and validation

Testing and compliance activities

Workshops and consultation with stakeholders

Market analysis and business development activities

Costs as eligible under Horizon Europe regulations

Novelty and disruptive potential of the Physical AI technology

Applicability and scalability in real-world environments

Demonstrated performance against state-of-the-art

Alignment with ethical, data governance, and scalability considerations

Stakeholder and end-user engagement

Impact on European leadership, sustainability, and competitiveness

Larger companies (not qualifying as SMEs) are not eligible to apply as mono-beneficiaries.

Any entities or proposals not established in eligible countries as defined by the EIC Work Programme 2026.

Milestone-based reporting: Progress at each stage (technical benchmarking, end-user commitment, deployment, compliance) will be assessed for advancement to subsequent stages.

Compliance with the reporting procedures described in the Model Grant Agreement for EIC actions under Horizon Europe.

Two-stage competition:

Stage 1: Submission and evaluation of solution validation, benchmarking initial prototype, and market analysis.

Stage 2: Full proposal required, subject to milestones achieved in Stage 1, focusing on development, user testing, and commercialization roadmap.

Complete application via EU Funding & Tenders Portal

Compliant proposal format (see Part B of the Application Form)

Letter of intent from end-users or robotics integrators supporting the use case

Demonstration of initial prototype (min TRL 4)

Evidence of access to data collection/testing infrastructure

Market analysis and initial business plan