EIC Pathfinder Challenge 2026: DeepRAP trustworthy cognitive AI
EIC Pathfinder grants of €500,000 to €4 million for research on AI that can reason, abstract and plan. Proposals close 28 October 2026.
DeepRAP is one of three EIC Pathfinder Challenges in 2026. The full name is Deep Reasoning, Abstraction and Planning towards trustworthy Cognitive AI Systems. The European Innovation Council funds research that tries to go beyond today's deep learning and reinforcement learning methods.
Each project can receive between €500,000 and €4,000,000 as a lump sum grant. The budget table expects about 8 grants for this challenge.
Projects should improve how AI systems reason, form abstract concepts and plan over long periods. The EIC especially welcomes approaches that combine neural networks with symbolic reasoning, and ideas from neuroscience, biology, physics or philosophy. By the end, a project should show its methods inside a working cognitive AI system at technology readiness level 4. Projects should also come with ways to check that the system can be explained and trusted, and follow the FAIR principles for data and models.
Universities, research organisations, SMEs, startups and individual researchers can apply, alone or as a consortium. They must be established in an EU Member State or a country associated to Horizon Europe. Consortia have country rules: two partners must come from two different countries, and three or more partners must come from at least three different countries.
Funded projects join a portfolio managed by the EIC. They work together on a shared DeepRAP benchmark, common pilots and standards between projects. The EIC wants the portfolio to cover different methods and use cases, such as industry, health, mobility and science.
The call opened on 22 July 2026 and closes on 28 October 2026. Proposals go through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. On 24 September 2026 the EIC uploaded a corrected Challenge Guide, so check the latest version before you submit.
Quick answers
Can a single organisation apply without partners?
Yes. Single legal entities can apply, but mid caps and larger companies cannot apply alone.
How long can the proposal be?
Sections 1 to 3 of Part B can be at most 30 A4 pages. Extra pages are hidden from the evaluators.
What kind of grant is it?
It is a Horizon Europe lump sum grant.