Watch the recording of our funding opportunities webinar and learn how to boost your projects with European funding!
Advancing Robotics & AI Innovation: webinar recording now available
The twentieth edition of the Sploro Cascade Funding Webinar Series, held on April 23rd, spotlighted the dynamic intersection of robotics, artificial intelligence, and sustainability. This session brought forward cutting-edge funding opportunities designed to accelerate real-world impact through smart automation, sustainable manufacturing, and AI-driven innovation.
Key insights included an in-depth overview of three major open calls: ELIAS, MAGICIAN, and MASTER, each supporting transformative projects that integrate AI and robotics into critical sectors like industrial automation, sustainability, and education. These cascade funding opportunities offer essential resources for startups, SMEs, researchers, and innovators aiming to scale groundbreaking solutions across Europe.
If you missed the live session, don’t worry! The full webinar recording is now available. Watch it here to gain strategic insights, explore open funding opportunities, and learn how tech-driven projects are reshaping industries and building a smarter, greener future.
Session#20 - ROBOTICS & AI INNOVATION
ELIAS – European Lighthouse of AI for sustainability – 1st Open Call. Funding opportunity for SMEs and startups to develop AI-based applications addressing sustainability challenges.
The ELIAS project, funded by Horizon Europe, is launching an open call for SMEs and startups developing AI solutions for sustainability. Projects should align with ELIAS’s focus areas—like building optimization, virtual infrastructure, or materials discovery—and reach TRL 5. Applicants must be registered in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. Consortium members are not eligible. Selected projects will receive funding and visibility within the European AI ecosystem.
Deadline: 30/04/2025
Funding: €60 k
MAGICIAN – Open Call 1. MAGICIAN funds projects that enhance robotic defect detection and repair in manufacturing through AI-driven and human-centered automation
MAGICIAN is a Horizon Europe project dedicated to developing an automation solution where robots detect and rework production defects before final manufacturing stages. The project aims to enhance productivity, safety, and quality in industrial processes by leveraging collaborative robotics, AI, and human-centered design.
The first open call seeks proposals that will improve MAGICIAN’s defect detection algorithms, rework techniques, and AI modules for real-time optimization. The MAGICIAN Open Call 1 invites startups and SMEs to contribute innovative solutions for autonomous defect detection and repair in manufacturing. This initiative focuses on integrating new functionalities into MAGICIAN’s defect detection (SR) and defect reworking (CR) robotic systems. Proposals should focus on either perception technologies or human-robot collaboration.
Deadline: 02/05/2025
Funding: €200 k
MASTER 2nd Open Call. Seeks to attract educational content creators to validate the MASTER platform and its technologies with students, addressing proposed challenges or their own within the project’s scope.
The MASTER 2nd Open Call is designed to foster the development and validation of educational content in the field of robotics, leveraging XR technologies. This initiative is part of the broader MASTER project, which aims to enhance capabilities in robotics education through innovative XR tools and platforms.
Deadline: 12/06/2025
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, researcher, educator, or technology enthusiast, this session offered valuable insights into how cascade funding can drive innovation in robotics and AI for a sustainable future.
Together, let’s build the next wave of smart, resilient, and inclusive technologies.
