European Commission opens calls for €307 million in funding for AI and data projects

The European Commission has launched two calls for projects with funding of €307.3 million under the "Digital, Industry and Space" cluster of the Horizon Europe work programme.

For the calls, which were announced on 15/01/2026, the Commission is allocating €221.8 million for an initiative to develop "trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) services, innovative data services and securing of EU strategic autonomy", it says.

The call will fund projects contributing to AI development, including actions supporting the Apply AI Strategy, robotics, quantum technologies, photonics and virtual worlds. Over €40 million is dedicated to the ’Open Internet Stack Initiative’, so both end-user applications and inside the stack technologies will be developed to support European sovereign digital commons.

An additional €85.5 million is available for the second call, which will support open strategic autonomy in digital and emerging technologies and raw materials. It will focus on topics like next-gen AI agents, robotics for industrial and service applications, and the development of new materials…