Funding for AI projects in Austria and Switzerland

Which funding is available in October 2026?

Country	Programme	For whom	Amount	Status as of 11 October 2026
AT	aws Digitalisierung	Companies in manufacturing and production-related services (in Tyrol, all sectors)	Grant up to €150,000	open, in order of receipt of applications
AT	DIGITAL.PLUS 26 (Upper Austria)	SMEs in Upper Austria, among other things for data management and AI	35%, at most €7,000	Apply by 2 November 2026
AT	digi4wirtschaft (Lower Austria)	Companies in Lower Austria, explicitly for AI and digitalisation	up to €25,000 per project	Applications open since 1 October 2026
AT	FFG General Programme	Companies, research and development only	up to €3 million per project	Submission by 31 December 2026
AT	Municipal Investment Act 2025	Municipalities	Share according to a distribution key	no application, paid out 2026 to 2028
AT	Research premium	Companies	14% of research expenditure	permanent
CH	Innosuisse innovation project	Companies, public administrations, non-profit organisations with a research partner	Innosuisse pays the research partner	ongoing
CH	Innosuisse innovation cheque	Organisations with fewer than 250 full-time positions	up to CHF 15,000 for a preliminary study	ongoing
CH	Innovation competition of Digital Public Services Switzerland	Federal government, cantons, cities, municipalities	2027 a total of CHF 200,000	Submissions from early November 2026

Closed or used up are, among others, KMU.DIGITAL 4.0, the aws programmes for AI adoption (AI-Adoption, until February 2025) and the FFG call “AI Ökosysteme 2026” (deadline 6 October 2026).

What is available in Austria for companies and operators?

aws Digitalisierung (aws: Austria Wirtschaftsservice, the federal development bank) is the most important open federal programme: a non-repayable grant of up to €150,000 for digitalisation projects with a duration of 8 months to 2 years. It is aimed at companies in manufacturing and production-related services, and in Tyrol at all sectors. The application must be submitted before the project starts.

Two federal states explicitly fund AI:

• Upper Austria, DIGITAL.PLUS 26: for SMEs based in Upper Austria, with focus areas including “data management/artificial intelligence”, 35% of costs, at most €7,000, minimum costs €12,000. Applications by 2 November 2026.
• Lower Austria, digi4wirtschaft: relaunched on 29 September 2026, budget of €2 million, up to €25,000 per project for AI and digitalisation, applications open since 1 October 2026.

The FFG (Austrian Research Promotion Agency) funds research, not the introduction of ready-made products. The General Programme is open to all topics and accepts applications in 2026 until 31 December. The research premium (§ 108c EStG, the Austrian Income Tax Act) refunds 14% of research expenditure, even without profit, as a credit on the tax account; for in-house research, an expert opinion from the FFG is required.

What can Austrian municipalities use?

Since the Budget Accompanying Act 2025, the funds from the Municipal Investment Acts (KIG 2023 and KIG 2025) are no longer earmarked grants but financial allocations. According to the Ministry of Finance, this means: no applications, no obligation to co-finance, no requirements on the type of investment, only a report to the municipal council. KIG 2025 comprises €620 million, paid out from 2026 to 2028; digital transformation is explicitly a topic in the report. A municipality can therefore also use these funds for digitalisation.

We have not found a general state programme for the digitalisation of municipalities. Regionally, there are calls via LEADER regions.

And for hospitals in Austria?

We have not found any funding that a hospital can apply for itself. With the Fiscal Equalisation 2024 to 2028, the federal government, the states and social insurance provide an additional €17 million per year for digitalisation and eHealth; the money goes into joint projects such as telemedicine and the health hotline 1450, not to individual hospitals. Hospital operators therefore usually fund AI through the state budget or through research projects.

What is available in Switzerland?

Innosuisse (the Swiss Innovation Agency) is the most important route. In innovation projects with implementation partners, companies, public administrations, non-profit organisations and other public institutions can work together with a Swiss research partner. Innosuisse pays the research partner; the implementation partner bears 40 to 60% of the total costs, of which at least 5% as a cash contribution. The Innovation Council for information and communication technology next meets on 21 October and 18 November 2026; applications must be submitted at least six weeks beforehand. For a preliminary study, there is the innovation cheque of up to CHF 15,000.

For authorities, there is the innovation competition of Digital Public Services Switzerland (DPSS). In 2025, it supported, among others, the project “GPT für Gemeinden” (GPT for municipalities) of the municipality of Orpund with CHF 40,000. There was no round in 2026; submissions for 2027 are possible from early November 2026, with a total of CHF 200,000 available. The start-up funding of the DPSS agenda supports national basic services; municipalities cannot apply there themselves.

For hospitals, there is no federal digitalisation funding that a hospital can apply for itself. The programme DigiSanté (CHF 392 million from 2025 to 2034) builds standards, registers and basic services; hospitals benefit indirectly.

Which EU programmes are open?

As an EU member, Austria takes part in the Digital Europe Programme; four European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) advise SMEs and public administrations. Since 2025, Switzerland has been associated with Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme, excluding cybersecurity and semiconductors there. The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation co-finances Swiss participants in the Digital Europe Programme up to 50%.

How does this work with basebox?

For an application, you need reliable costs. The configurator shows every item separately, and you receive the binding quote by email. Non-profit organisations receive 15% off the licence.

Not legal advice: Funding programmes, deadlines and guidelines change frequently. What counts is the guideline and your funding approval. Research as of 11 October 2026.