RAISE Automated Scientific Discovery call 2027: AI for self driving labs
Horizon Europe grants of about €9 million per project to add AI decision making to automated science labs, in materials science and food. Apply by 2 February 2027.
The RAISE Automated Scientific Discovery call is part of the Horizon Europe "AI in Science" call for 2027, run under the RAISE pilot. It funds research and innovation actions that build the AI layer for automated laboratories, so that instruments can plan, run and analyse experiments on their own or with partial human control.
The materials science topic has a budget of €26,500,000 and expects three grants of about €9,000,000 each. A sister topic on food has €3,000,000 for one grant. The same call also includes a €1,000,000 coordination action on a Data Lab for Science that links the European Open Science Cloud with RAISE.
Projects should show how an existing lab can be retrofitted with AI systems that work in a closed loop, with human oversight for accuracy, safety and ethics. Research targets named in the topic include agentic AI connected to lab instruments and robots, networked systems that run experiments across several labs, real time data analysis, standards for interoperability and better user interfaces. Example impact areas for materials science are batteries, photovoltaics, carbon capture, water purification and drug discovery.
Applicants must meet the standard Horizon Europe admissibility and eligibility rules in the General Annexes. Proposals are submitted through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal in a single stage.
The submission session opened on 13 October 2026, after a short delay announced on the portal. The deadline is 2 February 2027.
Quick answers
Is the call mainly about software?
Yes. The topic text says the scope prioritises software development, but justified purchases of extra equipment are not excluded.
Is international collaboration allowed?
Yes. The materials science topic says international collaboration is encouraged.