Open Horizons Announces Third Call: €55,000 Funding for Women-Led Deep Tech Startups

Home News Calls Open Horizons Announces Third Call: €55,000 Funding for Women-Led Deep Tech Startups

The Open Horizons project, funded under the EU’s research and innovation framework programme Horizon Europe, has officially launched applications for its third and final call (Open Call 3), offering significant opportunities for women-led startups in deep tech and digital innovation. The project aims to support women innovators by providing capital, mentorship, and market access.

Selected teams will receive up to €55,000 in equity-free funding to support the initiation and piloting stages of their solutions. This round features 12 corporate challenges from partner companies, including EY, Siemens, Migros, and Stahl. The challenges cover the following categories: industrial artificial intelligence and manufacturing, advanced materials and circular economy, FinTech/RegTech and international expansion, retail and logistics optimisation, HR Tech and enterprise automation, data analytics and market forecasting.

Startups should operate in one or more of the following key domains: artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, next-generation internet technologies, blockchain, advanced computing, Internet of Things (IoT), the metaverse, energy, green tech, agritech, or fintech.

Who can apply?

To participate, a startup must meet the following criteria:

  • Be registered in an EU Member State or a country associated with Horizon Europe.
  • Be women-led: a female founder or co-founder holds an executive position (e.g. CEO or CTO), and women collectively own at least 25% of the company’s equity.
  • 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.
  • Have no conflict of interest or double funding for the proposed activities.

To help potential applicants learn more about the programme, the project will host two Info Days for startups:

  • Info Day #1: 18 March at 10:00 (CET)
  • Info Day #2: 16 April at 16:00 (CEST).

Application deadline: 19 May 2026, 17:00 (CEST).

Applications can be submitted via the following link.