AI-IGNITE 2024 Open Call

Welcome to AI-IGNITE Call 2024!

APPLICATIONS CLOSED 

EIT Manufacturing South East launches the AI-IGNITE open call that seeks to promote Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital transformation across the South East region.

AI-IGNITE is one of the initiatives that emerged following the collaboration agreement between EIT Manufacturing South East and the Greek Satellite of AI-MATTERS with the goal of enhancing the competitiveness of the local business ecosystem by promoting the testing and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.

AI-MATTERS is the world-class reference network of testing and experimentation facilities for AI and robotics technologies in the manufacturing sector. Framed under the Digital Europe Programme, coordinated by CEA from the Paris-Saclay innovation ecosystem, AI-MATTERS aims to strengthen Europe’s positioning and leadership in the uptake Artificial Intelligence systems by building on the competences, experience, and facilities of 25 major organizations from eight European countries (Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Greece, Spain and France). The Greek satellite, with the Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation (LMS) acting as its representative body, has more than 30 years of research activities, combined with industrial customized services and a team of highly qualified and experienced experts.

Specifically, through “AI-IGNITE” we aim at accelerating the market deployment of AI-enabled concepts and innovative technologies by selecting and awarding Startups and SMEs that provide AI-based advanced solutions and take actions to boost the maturity of related technologies, enhance their competitiveness and productivity. Eligible companies are early-stage or mature companies, with a valid PIC number, that are registered and active in one of the following countries supported by EIT Manufacturing South East, namely Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, and Türkiye.

What’s in it for you?

The AI-IGNITE open call will award the five (5) top companies positioned for significant growth within the AI landscape, with:

  • A financial award of €10,000 per beneficiary from EIT Manufacturing South East for implementing their development plans 
  • A ticket of up to €40.000 of in-kind contribution from the AI-MATTERS Greek Satellite [an entity dedicated to advancing the adoption of AI technologies in manufacturing and related industries] covering the required infrastructure and expertise to design, engineer, deploy, and evaluate the beneficiaries’ solutions in their Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEF)
  • A growth package of up to three (3) months of dedicated Access-to-Market (A2M) support services from EIT Manufacturing South East Business Development & Innovation team

The applicants to the AI-IGNITE 2024 Open Call must meet the eligibility criteria as set in the Competition website.

The Terms & Regulations and eligibility criteria can be found below in the “Useful Links” section or here.

Who can apply?

To be eligible for consideration, proposals must meet the following criteria: 

  • Companies must be registered and active in one of the following countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, and Türkiye. 
  • The legal status of the companies requesting to participate should be an early-stage or mature Startup or SME with a valid PIC number. 
  • The application package should include a complete application form and logo in HD format. 

What are the areas addressed?

The AI-IGNITE Open Call invites proposals for innovation activities that address all areas related to the available Services ( 2.2. AI-MATTERS Services for the AI-IGNITE Open Call), namely: 

  • Industrial Digital Twins 
  • Intuitive robot programming 
  • Dynamic robot task planning & resources orchestration 
  • Layout planning optimization 
  • AR & VR for operator support & training 
  • Industrial IoT platform, analytics & visualization 
  • Synthetic data for training machine learning models 
  • Monitoring & control of milling processes 
  • Quality assessment in Resistance Spot Welding

How to apply

The official language of the Open Call is English (i.e., all submission material must be submitted in English and the representative of finalists selected to participate in the final event must pitch in English language).  

The following documentation must be submitted by the applicants through the submission tool no later than the call deadline 17 September 2024, 23:59 EEST. 

  • A completed Application form
  • The company logo in high quality graphic format (this will be used for the call promotional campaign)

NOTE: Only applications submitted through the online link before the deadline will be accepted and considered.  The organizers reserve the right to extend the submission deadline; any extension of the deadline will be communicated to the public on the competition website.

 

Timeline

Open call announcement: 21 May 2024

Open call Launch: 25 Jul 2024

Open Call Application deadline: 09 Sep 2024

Eligibility and admissibility check: until 30 Sep 2024

Evaluation of proposals: until 07 Oct 2024

Finalists Announcement: until 09 Oct 2024

Pitch Decks received: until 14 Oct 2024

Final Event Day: 17 Oct 2024

Follow up Event: Dissemination of Project Results: Q2-Q3 2025

*all times are expressed in EEST time (CEST +1)

Apply now!

Only applications received through Submittable are valid.

Contact Details