Collaborations with the US in AI, digital infrastructure and cyber security

With the call for proposals Innovation collaborations with the US in AI, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity, we want to give Swedish organizations access to innovation and collaboration opportunities with the US, and some of the world's most innovative and dynamic ecosystems - including Silicon Valley.

The offer is focused on three technology areas: industrially applied AI, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity. The offer aims to strengthen long-term trade relations between Sweden and the US

The call for proposals is a two-step effort.

Step 1

In stage 1, project will establish partnerships with American actors in industrially applied AI, digital infrastructure or cybersecurity. These collaborations will be based on the Swedish party's interest and need to develop a specific technology or innovation together with relevant American actors.

In stage 1, project that are a maximum of three months long are funded, starting in spring 2026. Stage 1 includes:

• Preparation for the stay in the USA.
• Stay in the USA one to three weeks
• Preparation for proposal in step 2.

Step 2

project that have been granted funding in stage 1 have the opportunity to apply for stage 2. In stage 2, we finance research, innovation, test or demonstration projects where bilateral cooperation is in focus. Funds can be applied for for activities in both Sweden and the USA. In stage 2, each project can apply for a maximum of 1 million SEK.

Proposal for stage 2 are only open to project that have been granted support in this call for proposals, Innovation Collaborations with the US in AI, Digital Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Stage 1.

The call for proposals for stage 2 will open in spring 2026.

Contribute to a sustainable system transformation

Eftersom Vinnova is tasked with promoting sustainable growth and system transformation, should your project also contribute to increased gender equality and climate change? We are based on the UN's global sustainability goals, defined in the 2030 Agenda. There we focus on two perspectives: gender equality and climate change.

This means that gender equality and climate change should be integrated into both how your project group is composed and in the intended outcome of your project.

Equal funding of innovations

An innovative force in a sustainable world

Your proposal should revolve around the implementation of an innovation project linked to industrial needs within AI, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity.

Applicants must also have the knowledge and strategic ambitions to successfully establish collaboration with one or more American partners.

We are targeting constellations consisting of one or more Swedish actors who intend to strengthen international collaboration with actors in the USA.

This call for proposals, which is the first stage of two, is aimed at universities and university college, companies, public organisations and civil society organisations in Sweden. Coordinator must be a legal entity with a Swedish corporate registration number. Foreign actors without a registered branch or establishment in Sweden can be included as project partners, but cannot receive funding from Vinnova.

If the project intends to apply for continuation in stage 2 at a later stage, the project must include at least one actor in Sweden and one actor in the USA.

Activities for which funding can be applied for:

You can apply for funding for personnel costs and travel. Step 1 includes activities such as preparation for a stay in the USA, one to three weeks on site in the USA, with the possibility of spending those weeks in connection with Nvidias GTC-konferens and connection to Nordic Innovation House.

Preparations

The preparations are estimated to take four weeks. During the stay in the USA, the projects are planned independently, but in dialogue with Vinnova and the Advanced digitalisation program. During this time, you will:

• Analyze and understand the system and market in the United States.
• Formulate goals for cooperation with the USA.
• Describe your company or organization, and develop a pitch.
• Identify contacts and book meetings before departure.
• Plan a kick-off meeting.

Residence in the USA (March 2026)

The projects that are funded can spend their time in the USA in connection with Nvidias GTC-konferens from March 16 to 19. During that period, the projects will have access to Nordic Innovation House's network and physical offices as well as the opportunity to participate in relevant events and networking opportunities connected to GTC.

With many actors in the field being in place at Silicon Valley during the conference, there are great opportunities for contacts and collaboration. The purpose of the stay is to deepen the understanding of Silicon Valley as innovation system and to find relevant collaboration partners.

The opportunity to stay in Silicon Valley is planned for March 16-20, 2026, in conjunction with the Silicon Valley Conference. There is the option to arrive earlier or stay longer, making the stay one to three weeks in total.

Post-processing

We estimate that the follow-up work will take about four weeks. This includes independent work on results from the stay. During this time, you will:

• Develop project idea together with American partner.

What costs can we finance?

Our funding is subject to state aid rules. The rules govern what types of costs we can finance. These are called eligible costs.

In this the call for proposals these types of costs are eligible:

• Personnel costs: Salary costs, including employer contributions and other salary-related costs.
• Other direct costs: For example, materials, supplies and travel necessary to carry out the project.
• Indirect costs (overhead):Costs that are not incurred as a direct result of but can be related to the project, for example regular premises and cleaning. Indirect costs may constitute a maximum of 30 percent of personnel costs. Universities, university colleges and certain research organizations and government agencies have higher maximum limits depending on the type of activities.

For more detailed information about which costs we can finance, see Instructions for eligible costs

What eligibility requirements apply to costs we finance?

For a cost to be eligible, it must be:

• necessary for the activities in the project
• recorded correctly and separately from the organization's other costs.

An organization may also not claim someone else's costs as its own.

For more detailed information on which eligibility requirements, limitations and exceptions apply, see Instructions for eligible costs

The state aid rules govern how much of the costs we can finance. This is determined individually for each organization. We therefore differentiate between how much funding the project can receive, and how much each participant can receive.

How much funding can the project receive?

In this call for proposals project in stage 1 can apply for up to 150,000 SEK for a maximum of 3 months long project.

How much funding can a participant receive?

In this call for proposals project in stage 1 can apply for up to 150,000 SEK for a maximum of 3 months long project.

How much funding each participant can receive depends mainly on:

• party size and activities
• which activities the party will carry out in the project.

Descriptions in the following sections about what support we can provide are simplified. For full details, see funding Criteria and Levels.

In this the call for proposals we provide support for feasibility studies.

Feasibility studies can be simply described as an evaluation and analysis of:

• strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks in an upcoming research and development project
• what resources are required to carry out the project
• how likely it is that the project will succeed.

How much of the costs can we finance?

The size of the organization and the type of activity determine how large a proportion of the costs we can finance, i.e. the maximum level of support. For feasibility studies, it is

• Small business 70%
• Medium-sized company 60%
• Large company 50%

Minor Support for businesses

In this the call for proposals we can [also] provide de minimis support, also known as support of minor importance. We can finance up to 100 percent of a project party's costs.

An organization can receive a maximum of 300,000 euros over a three-year period in this form of support, regardless of the funder and project. This means that if the same organization has received support of lesser importance in other project from other funders in the past, it will affect how large the support can be in this the call for proposals.

Submit a certificate of de minimis support when you submit proposal. This is required for us to be able to grant this support.

Certificate of de minimis support

Support for non-economic activities

In this the call for proposals we [also] provide support to organisations that do not engage in economic activities. This means that the organisation does not offer a service or product on a market. This usually includes universities and university colleges, research institutes and other organisations.

We can finance up to 100 percent of such an organization's costs.

How is it determined whether an organization is engaged in economic activities?

An organization that offers any kind of service or product on a market is considered to be conducting economic activities and cannot be granted this form of support. It does not matter how the organization is financed: whether it is public or private, or whether it has a profit motive. It also does not matter what legal form the business has. For example, whether it is a limited liability company, a trading company, an economic association, a non-profit association or a foundation.

If you are unsure whether an organization in your project is conducting economic activities, contact call manager. However, the organization is responsible for assessing whether it is conducting economic activities.

In order for us to assess your proposal, it must meet certain formal eligibility requirements. If the requirements are not met, we will reject proposal immediately.

Eligibility requirements for project parties

• All project partners must be legal entities. Natural persons or individual companies cannot participate.
• Coordinator must be a legal entity with a Swedish corporate registration number.
• The coordinating party must be a Swedish legal entity and conduct activities in Sweden.

Eligibility requirements for the project

• The project may apply for a maximum of SEK 150,000.
• The project must start no earlier than January 14, 2026 and be completed no later than April 15, 2026.
• The project manager must be employed by the coordinating party in the project.
• The project may not begin before proposal is submitted.

Eligibility requirements on proposal

• Proposal must be written in Swedish or English.
• Proposal must follow the instructions given in section 9.
• Proposal must contain all requested attachments.

Applications that meet our eligibility requirements will proceed to assessment. In the assessment, we look at how much potential your idea has, how realistic it is and who will implement the project.

What do we assess?

When assessing applications, we look at three main criteria:

• Potential: We analyze what effects and what value we can expect from the project.
• Actors: We assess the participants' competence and ability to implement the project and achieve the desired results and effects.
• Feasibility: We assess how realistic and credible the project plan is, both for implementing the project and for achieving desired results.

Eftersom Vinnova is tasked with contributing to increased gender equality and climate change, and we always follow up and assess these perspectives.

Potential

• How much potential does the project proposal have to achieve the call's objective and aim.
• Potential impact in industrially applied AI, digital infrastructure or cybersecurity for the solution, innovation or technology to which the intended collaboration relates.
• To what extent can collaboration with actors in the US strengthen the development of the solution, innovation or technology?
• The project's potential to build long-term sustainable innovation collaborations with actors in the USA.
• How well perspectives on sex, gender and climate change have been integrated into the project proposal, and what significance these have for the project's results.

Actors

• The project constellation's competence and ability to create long-term relationships with American actors.
• The project constellation's competence and ability to contribute to strengthening Swedish competitiveness in industrially applied AI, digital infrastructure, and cybersecurity.
• To what extent does the project proposal and the constellation of actors build on previous activities and results.
• How well the project manager and other key people are assessed to be able to lead and implement the project.
• How well the financial contribution, participation, power and influence are distributed in an equal manner in the project team.

Feasibility

• How well the project plan and budget are assessed to be able to realize a solution in accordance with the project proposal.
• How credible the project plan's risk analysis and action plan for these risks are.

• To what extent do the project's activities contribute to creating long-term and in-depth collaborations with actors in the USA.
• To what extent do the planned activities demonstrate knowledge of or existing contacts with relevant actors. To what extent do the project's activities create conditions for the development of the planned innovation within industrially applied AI, digital infrastructure, and cybersecurity.

How do we assess?

Once we receive the applications, we review them. We screen out any applications that are incomplete or do not meet our eligibility requirements.

Applications that are correct and complete are distributed among different evaluator and assessed in competition with each other. The evaluators are appointed by us based on their expertise in the field. Each proposal is assessed by at least three evaluator.

Once the evaluators have reviewed the applications, we have an assessment meeting where the evaluators recommend which applications should be granted.

How does it affect an organization's financial status?

Before deciding on funding, we also conduct a comprehensive assessment of the organizational and financial status of those receiving funding. We use information we obtain from credit reports, currently from Dun & Bradstreet.

In order for us to grant funding the following applies:

• Organizations seeking funding for personnel costs must be registered as employers with the Swedish Tax Agency.
• Organizations must not be insolvent, undergoing liquidation or corporate restructuring, nor must they have any significant unpaid debts with the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
• Organizations may not cover project costs in this the call for proposals with public funding or own funds intended for other project.
• Limited liability companies must not have used up half or more of their share capital.
• If requested, SMEs must be able to demonstrate that they have the financial capacity to carry out the project according to their budget in proposal.

Once we have assessed all applications, we will send you a decision either granting or rejecting your proposal. Since applications are assessed competitively, you may be rejected even though you meet all eligibility requirements and criteria.

In the decision, we state how much of the costs we will cover for each organization.

You cannot appeal our decision, but you are welcome to apply to us again at another time.

What happens if you are granted funding?

If we grant your proposal, you must follow our general terms and conditions for funding. The terms include, among other things:

• That you will sign a special document in which you approve your participation and commit to carrying out the project.
• That you report how things are going, your costs and achieved results to us regularly during the project period.
• If you are multiple parties, you must agree on your mutual rights and obligations in the project in an agreement. It can take time to get a project agreement in place, so it is a good idea to get this in place before the project starts.

See our general terms and conditions and get help understanding and fulfilling them

You also need to follow the special conditions that apply to this the call for proposals:

• At least one person from the project will spend one to three weeks in the USA during the course of the project. The stay is a central activity and part of the call's aim to build relevant relationships with American actors which in turn can lead to future collaborations. We may also decide to add supplementary special conditions for individual project. In such cases, they will be stated in the decision.

Could you need to pay back funding?

If you have received more money than you are entitled to or if you do not follow our term, you may be required to repay.

To apply for funding you fill out a proposal in our e-service. In proposal you answer questions about the project, participating project partners, and budget.

You also attach these attachments to proposal:

• Project description
  May comprise a maximum of 5 portrait A4 pages with single-column 12-point text. The project description should follow the template found further down on this website.
• CV attachment
  Relevanta CV for the project manager and all key personnel. The appendix is expected to include at least one CV per participant. Varje CV may be a maximum of 1 A4 page with 12 point text. The CV appendix should follow the template found further down this website.

• Only requested pages and attachments will be assessed. References to websites will not be taken into account.
• De minimis certificate (not mandatory, only if such support is sought)
  Signed certificate for companies applying for " Support of minor importance" (de minimis support). A template for the certificate can be downloaded from the call's website.

How long does proposaltake?

Keep in mind that it takes time to make a proposal. Filling out templates can take several days, as it is based on the analyses you will do.

In our e-service you can start filling in the details and then continue at a later time. You can also distribute permissions to others who you want to contribute to proposal. When proposal is complete, mark it complete.

You can unlock proposal and make changes at any time, right up until the last application date. If you unlock proposal, you must then clear it again for it to be registered when the call for proposals closes.

2025-10-10

Changes have been made to "1. The offer in brief", last paragraph, second sentence.

Project can apply for up to SEK 150,000 for a maximum of 3 months of project time.