Submit your project idea to participate in Europe's development in AI and semiconductors – IPCEI AI and IPCEI AST

This is an offer to submit an expression of interest to apply as an associate partner to IPCEI Advanced Semiconductor Technologies (IPCEI AST)) and IPCEI Artificial Intelligence (IPCEI AI)).

Expression of interest is submitted in the form of an overall project proposal, in a possible next step a more detailed project description will be requested. Preliminary, the project can last for a maximum of 5 years and have a total budget of 40-80 million SEK per year. Expression of interest must clearly validate that applicant company, individually or in a consortium, will be able to co-finance the project proposal according to the rules on state aid. Funding will be granted with support from Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 (GBER).

Based on the expressions of interest received, Vinnova will decide which project proposals will proceed to a matchmaking process with actors/project proposals from the other participating European countries in the spring of 2026.

• A digital kick-off will be arranged for IPCEI AST on 25-26 March 2026.
• For IPCEI AI, a kick-off will be arranged on site in Berlin on 10-11 March 2026.

This is only an expression of interest. No decision on fundingis made at this stage. Note that Vinnova has not made any decision on the budget for participation in IPCEI AST or IPCEI AI. Vinnova provisionally sees the possibility of financing a few project with up to 20-30 million SEK in funding per year, this may change in the future. A possible funding decision to participate in IPCEI AST or IPCEI AI will only be made after the matchmaking process and in a special order.

The government has commissioned Vinnova to enable companies to register interest in participating in IPCEI AST and IPCEI AI, respectively. The government believes that these areas of focus encompass Swedish areas of strength and that potential participation could strengthen and further develop Sweden's position in strategically important technology areas.
Read the government assignment

The European Commission and participating Member States are now preparing the next round of Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Advanced Semiconductor Technologies (AST).

IPCEI is an EU instrument to enable large-scale, cross-border and strategically important innovation and industrial projects that strengthen European value chains when the market cannot support the investments itself. The projects must have a high level of innovation beyond the global State of the Art.
Read more about IPCEI as an instrument

For IPCEI AST and IPCEI AI, Vinnova will only fund associated partners where co-financing is required from participating companies. Any funding from Vinnova will therefore be granted with support from GBER. The state aid rules govern how large a proportion of the costs we can finance. This is determined individually for each organisation.
Read more about state aid to companies

Sweden is now implementing a national process to identify Swedish actors who can contribute project proposals and participate in the upcoming European IPCEI applications.

This expression of interest has two orientations, which orientation is intended must be stated in the application.

• IPCEI Advanced Semiconductor Technologies (IPCEI AST)
• IPCEI Artificial Intelligence (IPCEI AI)

The project proposals are expected to:

• Have European added value and contribute to an interconnected value chain.
• Be innovative, scalable and technologically leading in the field.
• Show how the project contributes to the EU's strategic autonomy, especially in digital and technological sovereignty.
• Describe how collaboration with actors in at least two other member states contributes to achieving the project proposal's objective.
• Have clear feasibility, including budget and schedule.

Aim IPCEI AST

IPCEI AST covers advanced and disruptive semiconductor technologies. The technology areas included are described in more detail in the document IPCEI on Advanced Semiconductor Technologies – Central Narrative, which also describes objective for IPCEI AST.

Megatrends such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, security and sustainability are driving a fundamental transformation of society. The European semiconductor industry has a central role to play in this development – but only if Europe quickly mobilizes and acts ambitiously to seize the new market opportunities.

Despite Europe's strong positions in several specific technology areas, the European semiconductor sector has been under pressure over the past 20 years. Semiconductors are now one of the most strategic technology areas globally and a major source of geo-economic and political influence. This reinforces the need for European technological sovereignty and international competitiveness.

To meet this transition, an IPCEI focusing on advanced semiconductor technologies (AST) can enable Europe's semiconductor industry to seize new technological opportunities and strengthen its positions in the global market.

IPCEI AST targets project in the following areas:

• AI chips and accelerators – technology that enables faster and more energy-efficient computing for artificial intelligence.
• Photonic integrated circuits – solutions that combine light-based and electronic functionality for high-performance computing and communication.
• Chiplets and heterogeneous integration / advanced packaging – new ways to build circuits by combining different types of components for better performance and flexibility.
• Innovative technologies where Europe is already strong, for example:
  • Disruptive sensors
  • Power electronics and solutions that improve energy efficiency
  • Secure communication

Aim IPCEI AI

IPCEI AI's goal is to develop a European ecosystem for next-generation AI that offers the latest technologies for AI training and AI development. This requires secure access to high-quality data sets and access to cutting-edge AI solutions. The goal is to significantly increase the use of AI in European companies and public organizations by offering easy-to-use, effective AI solutions with low thresholds for implementation. More information can be found in the document IPCEI AI Value chain description,, which also describes objective of IPCEI AI. IPCEI AI targets project in the following areas:

• Establish an autonomous AI ecosystem for the next generation, with core components for AI training and use, open and competitive base models, innovative methods for inference and fine-tuning, sector-specific AI solutions, and energy-efficient use of AI.
• Ensure standardized access to high-quality and structured industrial data, in accordance with European data protection and security regulations.
• Develop and implement working methods such as “AI as a Service" (AIaaS), adapted for both developers and users of AI. These will enable broad use of AI models for specific applications in various sectors, such as energy, telecommunications, defense, finance and space.
• Develop open source solutions that can be made available in open environments for developers and end users.
• Integrera AI-modeller broadly in sector-specific systems and applications, with a focus on concrete use cases in companies and public organizations.

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

Expression of interest is open to companies, individually or in consortium, that have innovative project proposals in need of European collaborations and resources to participate in IPCEI. Participation in the process requires the ability to contribute to large international project and resources for extensive co-financing.

Expression of interest does not refer to decisions on funding.

Based on the expressions of interest that are received, Vinnova decides on a few project proposals that will move forward in the process. The next step includes international matchmaking with project proposals from other EU member states. The result of the matchmaking process is a number of proposed international collaborations that can then be given the opportunity to apply for national funding.

This is only an expression of interest and no decision on funding is made at this stage. Vinnova has not currently decided on a budget for a possible participation in IPCEI AST or IPCEI AI.

How much funding each participant can receive in a possible proposal for funding in stage two depends mainly on:

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

For complete information, see funding bases and levels.

Expressions of interest should be submitted as a general project proposal and use the IPCEI standard application template. The templates are designed to collect all the information that Member States need to assess the project proposals at national level. The plan submitted in expression of interest does not need to be as detailed as the final project application, but it should be sufficiently informative to allow the relevance and impact of the project to be assessed.

In order for us to assess your proposal, it must meet certain formal eligibility requirements. If the requirements are not met, proposal will be rejected without assessment.

Eligibility requirements for project parties

• All project partners must be legal entities. Natural persons or individual companies cannot participate.
• All project partners must be companies and conduct activities in Sweden.
• Turnover according to the latest annual report must exceed SEK 500 million for the coordinating party, individually or as a group.

Eligibility requirements for the project

• Expression of interest should be based on applicant expectation to conduct activities in the IPCEI project with a total scope between 0.8-6.566632 SEK million/year.
• The project manager must be employed by the coordinating party in the project.

Eligibility requirements on proposal

• Proposal must be written in 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 great potential applicant within the selected IPCEIs is to be an attractive party, contribute to the goals and be able to add value in a European context.
• The applicant's potential to participate in IPCEI if the matchmaking process is successful.
• How innovative the project proposal is in relation to existing solutions and ongoing major initiatives in the area.
• How likely it is that the project proposal will lead to new knowledge and new skills that can be used to scale up or implement new solutions.
• 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

• How well presented human resources have the skills and roles to be able to carry out the matchmaking process and a possible upcoming project.
• Applicant's previous experience of participating in major European R&D 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 well presented human resources have sufficient time allocated to be able to carry out the matchmaking process.
• How good the conditions are for the project's results to be taken forward and used after the end of the project.

How do we assess?

Once we receive the applications, we will review them. We will reject any applications that are incomplete or that do not meet our eligibility requirements as per section 6 above.

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.

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.

You cannot appeal our decision.

When the call for proposals closes, your proposal will be registered as. We will then send an email confirmation to the person responsible for the user account, as well as to the project manager and the signatory. If you have not received a confirmation within 24 hours of the call for proposals closing, please contact us.

Once the call for proposals is closed, you cannot change anything in proposal. You can only make additions if we ask you to.

Who can read your proposal?

Your proposal will be read by Vinnova employees and the external evaluator participating in this the call for proposals. Everyone works under a duty of confidentiality.

Applications submitted to us become public documents. This means that we must disclose them if requested. However, we keep certain types of information confidential if disclosure could be expected to cause financial harm to the individual. This applies to information about business and operational conditions, inventions or research results.

How we handle public documents and confidentiality