The well-known aws AI programmes are paused and KMU.DIGITAL has expired. AI projects can still be funded in 2026: through the digitalisation programmes of the federal states and, for genuine development, through the FFG. This page shows the current status and the route to an eligible AI project.
Searching for AI funding turns up many articles about programmes that no longer exist in that form. That costs time and creates false expectations.
No call is currently open for the aws programmes AI Start and AI Adoption, and KMU.DIGITAL is exhausted and expiring. Many advisory websites still show the old status.
Licences for an AI tool are not an eligible project. Funding goes to a change in operations, backed by a plan, a measure and a metric.
Many AI ideas fail before the application because the required data is missing, scattered or incomplete. The foundation belongs in the project.
Since February 2025, the AI Act has required AI literacy among employees, and transparency obligations have applied since August 2026. A serious application takes this into account.
An eligible AI project does not start with the technology, but with a process that is meant to improve measurably.
Customer service, quote generation, forecasting, document processing: where AI delivers measurable time savings or revenue.
Is the required data available, accessible and legally usable? Gaps become part of the project.
Vienna, Lower Austria or FFG, depending on location, project size and share of development.
Plan, project description, metrics and a quote by cost type, submitted before commissioning.
Implementation with AI Act documentation, training and proof of impact for the settlement.
As of October 2026, three programmes are accepting applications and two are closed. The cards show key facts, status and suitability.
Wirtschaftsagentur Wien
Data integration, dashboards, AI applications and software from €10,000 project costs, based on a digitalisation plan.
State of Lower Austria & WKNÖ
Projects that connect existing operational data with decisions: integration, analysis, forecasting, AI.
FFG
AI development with a genuine research and development share. Simply introducing existing tools is not eligible.
aws
First AI projects (AI Start) and larger AI initiatives (AI Adoption). aws announces new rounds separately.
BMWET, WKO & aws
Status analysis, strategy consulting and implementation. New applications are no longer possible.
AI funding in Austria had clear names in recent years: AI Start, AI Adoption, KMU.DIGITAL. As of October 2026, none of these programmes is accepting applications. That does not mean AI projects are no longer funded. Today the route runs through the general digitalisation programmes of the federal states and, for genuine development, through research funding.
| Programme | Funding body | Status October 2026 | Suitability for AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Förderung Digitalisierung | Wirtschaftsagentur Wien | Open until 31 Dec 2026 | AI applications as part of a digitalisation plan |
| digi4Wirtschaft | State of Lower Austria & WKNÖ | Open until 31 Dec 2026 | Data projects including AI analysis |
| Basisprogramm Kleinprojekt | FFG | Open until 31 Dec 2026 | Only with a research and development share |
| AI Start, AI Adoption | aws | No open call | New rounds are announced separately |
| KMU.DIGITAL | BMWET, WKO, aws | Exhausted, ending | No new applications |
All information without guarantee. Conditions and budgets change; the guidelines of the respective funding body are binding [1][3][4][5][6].
One distinction is decisive for choosing the programme. Most AI projects in SMEs are application projects: an existing language model is connected to the company’s own data and processes, for example as an AI assistant in customer service or for process automation. Such projects fit digitalisation programmes. Development projects, by contrast, solve a task for which no solution exists yet, with technical risk and an open outcome. Only they fit the FFG.
Good to know: For AI Start, cooperation with an external implementation partner was part of the application, and up to €15,000 was funded. If the aws announces a new round, it pays to have a prepared project ready [1][2].
The AI Act is not an obstacle to funding applications, but a serious application takes it into account [7]. Since 2 February 2025, Art. 4 has required sufficient AI literacy among employees who work with AI systems. Since 2 August 2026, Art. 50 has required, among other things, that people can recognise when they are interacting with an AI. Training and documentation therefore belong in every AI project and are often eligible costs.
Remember: What gets funded is not AI, but a measurable improvement in operations achieved with AI. Companies that can describe this in one sentence have already written half of the project description.
For Viennese companies, the page Digitalisation grant Vienna describes requirements and process in detail; for Lower Austria, the guide digi4Wirtschaft does the same. What remains after the end of KMU.DIGITAL is shown under KMU.DIGITAL has expired.
The processes with the biggest AI lever are identified and evaluated with figures.
Location, project size and development share determine the right programme.
Documents are prepared and the company submits. Commissioning happens only afterwards.
Build, training, documentation and proof of impact for the settlement.
Yes, but not under the best-known names. As of October 2026, no call is open for the aws programmes AI Start and AI Adoption. AI projects are currently funded mainly through the digitalisation programmes of the federal states, for example with 50 percent in Vienna or 20 percent in Lower Austria, and for genuine development through the FFG Basisprogramm.
Two aws programmes within aws Digitalisierung. AI Start supported the first implementation of an AI project in SMEs with up to €15,000, AI Adoption larger projects with up to €150,000. The aws announces new rounds on its funding page and in its newsletter.
When the project contains genuine research and development, meaning technical risk and novelty, for example a proprietary model for a previously unsolved task. Introducing existing AI tools or a standard chatbot usually does not meet this requirement.
On their own, hardly. Digitalisation programmes finance projects that change a process in the business. Software and licences can be eligible costs if they are part of such a project, not as a standalone purchase.
Since 2 February 2025, companies must ensure that employees who use AI systems have sufficient AI literacy. Since 2 August 2026, transparency obligations apply, such as disclosing that a chatbot is an AI. High-risk systems are subject to separate obligations that take effect later and usually do not affect typical SME applications such as chatbots or forecasts.
The company submits the application itself. Dometrics delivers the use case assessment, project description, metrics and a quote by eligible cost type, and then implements the project. Nobody can guarantee a funding approval.
No sales pitch, no commitment. Dometrics responds with an honest assessment and says so when there is no leverage to be found.
