Development of AI Solutions

Who it is for

The planned call No. 02-131-K “Development of AI Solutions” is aimed at micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) creating or developing artificial intelligence (AI) products and solutions suitable not only for the applicant itself but also for other market participants. The call is announced under the 2021–2027 EU funds investment programme, priority 1 “A Smarter Lithuania” (Pažangesnė Lietuva), progress measure No. 05-001-01-05-05 “Encouraging companies to digitise” (activity No. 05-001-01-05-05-07-01). Projects are administered by the Innovation Agency (VšĮ Inovacijų agentūra); the selection method is a competitive procedure and the funding takes the form of a grant.

In the previous call under the same activity, supported solutions had to be based on AI technologies — machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, robotics. The same direction is likely to continue in the new call, but the exact definition of supported activities will be published in the call description.

Funding terms

According to the planned-call information published on esinvesticijos.lt (as of 2026-07-11):

• total call amount — EUR 5,000,000, allocated to the Central and Western Lithuania region;
• maximum grant per project — EUR 138,000;
• the funding intensity and the own-contribution share are currently marked “information in preparation” — they will be published in the call description;
• the minimum grant amount will be published in the call description.

No funding for the Capital region (Vilnius region) is indicated in this call's listing — only the budget for the Central and Western Lithuania region is published.

Applicant requirements

It is confirmed that eligible applicants are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Detailed eligibility requirements (minimum revenue, length of operation, sector restrictions by EVRK, the possibility of partners) have not yet been published on the new call's page — they will be set out in the project funding conditions description. For indicative requirements based on the previous call, see the section “Benchmark: the previous call”.

Eligible costs

The list of eligible costs for the new call is still being drafted (“information in preparation”) and will be published in the call description. In the previous call No. 02-124-K, eligible costs included the salaries of project staff, rental of equipment, software and licences (in proportion to their use in the project), services purchased from external suppliers (no more than 15% of eligible costs) and indirect costs.

Deadlines and status

As of 2026-07-11, call No. 02-131-K is planned — applications are not yet being accepted. Esinvesticijos.lt states:

• planned start of application submission — 2026-10-30 14:00;
• planned application deadline — 2026-12-30 17:00.

Project implementation plans will be submitted via the 2021–2027 Data Exchange Site (DMS). The planned dates may be revised, so check the current information on the call page before preparing an application.

Benchmark: the previous call

While the terms of the new call are being drafted, the previous call under the same activity — No. 02-124-K, open from 2025-11-26 to 2026-02-18 (the submission deadline was extended to 2026-02-18 17:00) — can serve as a benchmark:

• in the previous call No. 02-124-K, the total amount was EUR 10,000,000, allocated solely to the Central and Western Lithuania region;
• two groups of activities were supported: developing a minimum viable product with sufficient functionality for early users — grants from EUR 20,000 to EUR 78,000 — and developing an advanced, market-ready AI product — grants from EUR 40,000 to EUR 138,000;
• the funding intensity reached up to 80% of eligible costs, with an own contribution of at least 20%;
• the applicant had to be an SME registered for at least 2 years, with revenue of at least EUR 145,000 in each of the last two financial years;
• at least 51% of revenue had to come from activities in EVRK 2.1 sections B, C or K (industry and information and communication technologies) — EVRK is the Lithuanian equivalent of NACE;
• project duration — up to 12 months from contract signing, with activities to be completed no later than 2029-09-01.

Important: the terms of the new call No. 02-131-K may differ from the previous one. The final requirements will be known only once the project funding conditions description is published — until then, the figures above should be treated only as a benchmark from the previous call.

How to prepare

1. Check your SME status — prepare the small and medium-sized business entity status declaration, assessing the structure of related companies and shareholders. 2. Assess your financial indicators — if the previous call's requirements carry over, revenue of at least EUR 145,000 would be needed in each of the last two financial years; check that your financial statements have been filed with the Centre of Registers (Registrų centras). 3. Check your revenue structure by EVRK — the previous call required at least 51% of revenue to come from industrial or information and communication technology activities. 4. Define your AI product concept — which AI technology the solution is based on, which market users (not only your own company) it is intended for, and its development stage (minimum viable product or market-ready product). 5. Plan a budget including your own contribution — in the previous call it amounted to at least 20% of the project value; also note that the share of purchased services was capped. 6. Prepare to work with DMS — applications will be submitted via the 2021–2027 Data Exchange Site, so arrange access and authorisations in advance. 7. Follow the announcements — the call description is expected to be published on 2026-10-30; up-to-date information is published by esinvesticijos.lt and the Innovation Agency (Inovacijų agentūra).