LLM-BRIDGE – Venture Incubation Programme - Open Call for Incubators – 2nd Call
Digital Europe · Cascade funding
Summary
A Polish company can use this call for R&D.
An experienced incubator receives funding to mentor early-stage GenAI ventures, provide technical resources and support responsible commercialisation.
- Who can apply
- Companies can lead: other.
- Amount
- €60K per projectTotal budget €60,000
- Deadline
- 28 Nov 2026 18:00 CETin 35 days
- Status
- Openopened 28 Sept 2026
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.
Description
The Venture Incubation Programme (VIP) serves as an instrument to strengthening incubation capacity in Europe to support early-stage GenAI ventures as well as to:
• Accelerate the commercialisation of LLM technologies, providing mentoring, access to high-performance computing (HPC) resources, data infrastructures, and regulatory guidance.
• Promote responsible AI innovation, aligned with the AI Act, Data Act, GDPR, and the EU’s Digital Decade Targets.
• Foster cross-border collaboration, knowledge sharing, and participation of underrepresented regions and groups in the European AI ecosystem.
Through this call, LLM-BRIDGE seeks to identify and support one high-quality, EU-based incubator capable of supporting startups in the transforming of early-stage GenAI ideas into viable, scalable, and ethically compliant ventures that may be eligible to apply for the future Long Jump and European Grand Challenges. Participating in the VIP provides an opportunity for a leading incubator to position itself at the forefront of Europe’s generative AI revolution. This collaboration offers strategic, reputational, and operational advantages, aligning the incubator with a pan-European initiative that seeks to redefine the future of AI-driven innovation and technological leadership.
The VIP programme will select one incubator to run a 12-week VIP cohort across Europe, which will:
• Deliver structured training and mentoring to 30 startups.
• Provide and facilitate access to technical expertise and AI infrastructures.
• Monitor and report progress using standardised KPIs defined in the Annex I.
• Contribute to the overall impact of LLM-BRIDGE and the European GenAI innovation ecosystem.
The selected incubator will gain direct access to a carefully selected pipeline of high-potential GenAI startups from across Europe, allowing it to deepen its expertise in nurturing deep-tech ventures with the potential to drive the next wave of generative AI solutions. Such engagement not only enhances the incubators reputation as a leading enabler of cutting-edge innovation but also strengthens its market position within the highly competitive AI ecosystem.
Help desk
All information about the LLMB Open Call can be found at: https://www.llm-bridge.eu/
Who can apply, in detail
- Applicant types
- Other
- Purpose
- Research and innovation
- R&D relevance
- 2 of 3
- Poland eligible
- Yes
- Country limit
- EU Member States and Digital Europe associated countries
- Region
- Any
- Consortium
- Single applicant
- Readiness level (TRL)
- —
- Per project
- €60K
- Topics
- Generative AI
- Large language models
- Startup incubation
- High-performance computing
- Responsible AI
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source. 23 Oct 2026
Conditions
Typed facts extracted from the source documents by Scindu's grant-data review. Each value keeps its own conditions. Unknown means unstated, not zero or unlimited.
- Applicant restriction
- Applicant must be a legal entity established in an EU Member State or a country associated with the Digital Europe Programme; at least three years of startup-incubation experience is required, preferably in AI/NLP/deep tech.
- Eligible project scope
- Funded activities include startup mentoring/training, GenAI/LLM incubation modules, access to technical resources and specialist advice, monitoring/reporting, Demo Day and EU-level dissemination, subject to the approved implementation plan.
- Other condition
- One 12-week incubation programme for 30 startups.
- Other condition
- Call submission deadline: 28 November 2026 at 17:00 CET.
The year is confirmed by the call timeline on PDF p.23.
- Other condition
- The submission deadline is 28 November 2026.
- Other condition
- The incubator is expected to designate a Programme Manager responsible for operational coordination, reporting and communication; no employment relationship, pay rate or qualification requirement is specified in this clause.
- Other condition
- The collaboration is contingent on LLM-BRIDGE receiving the underlying European Commission funding; the consortium may delay, modify or cancel the collaboration if that funding is not secured.
- Other condition
- 40% initial pre-financing after contract signature and approval of the implementation/onboarding plan; 60% final payment after accepted report, at least 30 incubated startups, at least 7 of 8 other KPIs, and compliance verification.
Amounts and costs
- Indicative budget
- €60,000
Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.
- Eligible cost
- The fixed contribution may cover staff, mentoring, management, travel, communication and reporting needed for the 12-week programme; the call does not reimburse additional or indirect costs.
- Ineligible cost
- Funding does not cover travel and accommodation of the 30 startups.
- Project funding, maximum
- €60,000
One selected incubator; fixed lump sum calculated against predefined activities and measurable outcomes. This is the maximum contribution, not an hourly salary scale.
Personnel and services
Project management
Example only
Operational coordination, reporting and communication with Consortium. This is a required programme function, not a stated hiring requirement or fundable salary entitlement; the contribution may cover staff in general.
Source documents
Call facts
- Opens
- 28 Sept 2026
- Deadline model
- Single-stage
- Programme
- Digital Europe · 2021 - 2027
- Call
- LLM-BRIDGE – Venture Incubation Programme - Open Call for Incubators – 2nd Call
- Types of action
- —
- Source
- ec.europa.eu
- Checked
- 24 Oct 2026
- Portal updated
- 9 Oct 2026
- Review status
- Partial review
- Reviewed
- 23 Oct 2026
This is a summary of the source page, not the official text. Eligibility, conditions and the submission system are at the source.