To access the Electronic Submission Service, please click on the submission-button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to your proposal. You will then be asked to confirm your choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, you will be linked to the correct entry point.
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"],"keywords":["HORIZON-EIC-2026-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01-03","HORIZON-EIC-2026-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01"],"sortStatus":["1"],"language":["en"],"topicConditions":["In order to apply, your proposal must meet the general eligibility requirements (see Annex 2 of EIC Work Programme 2026) as well as specific eligibility requirements for the Challenge (please see the Topic description above).
Please check for particular elements (e.g., specific application focus or technology) in the respective Challenge chapter.
The EIC Pathfinder Challenges support collaborative or individual research and innovation from consortia or from single legal entities established in a Member State or an Associated Country (unless stated otherwise in the specific Challenge chapter). In case of a consortium your proposal must be submitted by the coordinator on behalf of the consortium. Consortia of two entities must be comprised of independent legal entities from two different Member States or Associated Countries. Consortia of three or more entities must include as beneficiaries at least three legal entities, independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
The legal entities may for example be universities, research organisations, SMEs, start-ups, natural persons. In the case of single beneficiary projects, mid-caps and larger companies will not be permitted.
Applications with elements that concern the evolution of European communication networks (5G, post-5G and other technologies linked to the evolution of European communication networks) will be subject to restriction for the protection of European communication networks (see Annex II – Section B1).
The standard admissibility and eligibility conditions and the eligibility of applicants from third countries are detailed in Annex 2.
Proposal page limit and layout:
Described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
Sections 1 to 3 of the part B of your proposal, corresponding respectively to the evaluation criteria Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation, must consist of a maximum of 30 format A4 pages. Excess pages will be automatically made invisible, and will not be taken into consideration by the evaluators. Please also consult Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
Described in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
Described in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
Described in Annex 2 of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
Described in Section II of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
Described in Section II of the EIC Work Programme 2026 and the Online Manual.
Described in Section II of the EIC Work Programme 2026.
Please refer to the Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement (Lump Sum MGA) used for Lump Sum EIC actions under Horizon Europe.
Described in the EIC Work Programme 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Standard application form (HE EIC Pathfinder Challenges)
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC Pathfinder Challenges)
Challenge Guide: Deep Reasoning, Abstraction & Planning towards trustworthy Cognitive AI Systems
Call-specific instructions
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Expected Impact:
The resulting portfolio will not only advance the scientific state-of-the-art but also build a robust, interoperable, and application-driven community, positioning Europe at the forefront of trustworthy cognitive AI. It should also lay the foundations for future European leadership in safe, human-centric cognitive AI, supporting sovereignty and competitiveness in key sectors. It will support the ambitions of the AI Act[1] and the European approach to Artificial Intelligence[2].
Expected Outcome:
Ambitious proposals put forward under this call will deliver:
In addition, proposals will:
Portfolio approach
The composition of the portfolio of projects to be funded under the DeepRAP Challenge will ensure comprehensive coverage across the following categories with a view to ensuring breadth and enabling synergies between the projects:
The selected projects will also be assigned to lead and/or engage in portfolio activities centred on the following priorities:
Objective:
Innovative ideas put forward under this Challenge must explore novel approaches, including combinations of existing techniques (i.e. neuro-symbolic AI), or the creation of entirely new frameworks that go beyond current, traditional, deep learning and reinforcement learning paradigms. These could be inspired by developments in diverse fields such as neuroscience, biology, physics, philosophy and more.
The proposals should address one or more of the following cognitive capabilities:
Scope:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems have achieved remarkable progress as evidenced by the ability of Generative AI to recognise patterns and generate contextually relevant outputs based on ever larger models and associated datasets. However, despite the remarkable strides made over the past decade, there remains a significant gap between the capabilities of the human brain and machine intelligence, which must be overcome to achieve robust performance and enable effective interactions with users and stakeholders.
Current Generative AI models can release very accurate outputs and even solve some mathematical problems but might struggle with some complex reasoning benchmarks and to understand the real world. These models frequently fail to reliably solve logic tasks and long-term planning, even when provably correct solutions exist, limiting their effectiveness in critical applications where precision is essential.
Inspired by the human brain’s ability to process information at multiple levels of abstraction—enabling perception, reasoning, and goal-directed planning—the goal of this Challenge is to move beyond the current state-of-the-art in traditional AI approaches, whether symbolic (e.g., rules, decision trees, symbolic regression, etc.) or connectionist, neural (e.g., deep learning, large language models, reinforcement learning). The goal is to significantly improve the Reasoning, Abstraction, and Planning (RAP) capabilities of AI systems.
This will overcome the limitations of current deep learning models, which despite their strengths, have limitations in critical cognitive functions for abstraction, contextualisation, causality, explainability, and intelligible reasoning — competencies that are fundamental to move towards human-like intelligence.
[1] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-launches-ai-innovation-package-support-artificial-intelligence-startups-and-smes
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_383 150 AI Act | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)
[4] EBRAINS: Europe's Research Infrastructure for Brain Research - EBRAINS
[5]
[7] Introduction to the Quantum Flagship | Quantum Flagship
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Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
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The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
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