Open Horizons announces its Second Call: €55,000 in funding for women-led deep tech startups
The Open Horizons project, funded under the EU Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon Europe, has officially launched its Second Open Call, offering significant opportunities for women-led startups in deep tech and digital innovation. The project aims to support women innovators by providing capital, mentoring, and access to markets.
Selected teams will receive up to €55,000 in equity-free funding to support the inception and pilot phases. Beyond financial support, the programme connects entrepreneurs with leading European corporates such as REWE, Repsol, Holcim, and others to co-develop and test paid pilot projects. Participants will work on one of 17 corporate challenges proposed by partner companies, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, green technologies, retail, and more.
Who can apply?
To be eligible, a startup must meet the following criteria:
- Be established in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe-associated country.
- Be women-led: a founder or co-founder holds a top management position (e.g. CEO/CTO), and women collectively own at least 25% of the company.
- Be at an early stage of development (founded between 6 months and 6 years ago) and have raised less than €1 million in equity funding.
Application deadline: 29 January 2026, 17:00 CET.
Applications can be submitted via the following link.