NEURA Research Programme 2026/2027: Physical AI call for proposals
Up to €500k per project for universities, research institutes and startups in the EU, UK or Switzerland that bring Physical AI robot skills to a real pilot. Proposals close 30 October 2026.
The NEURA Research Programme is a call for proposals from NEURA Robotics for the funding year 2026/2027. It funds projects that take Physical AI research to pilot readiness on NEURA's MiPA robot platform. Up to €10M is expected for the call, with up to €500k per project based on actual need. Projects run for 12 to 18 months.
Projects must use MiPA and focus on at least one of three areas: health care, retail or hospitality. Selected teams also get access to NEURA Gym Services, a real world test environment, and to the Neuraverse simulation platform. The MiPA lease and the Gym Services are paid from the grant, not on top of it.
Universities, higher education institutions, publicly funded research institutes and startups can apply if they are established in Germany, another EU Member State, the United Kingdom or Switzerland. Joint projects and partners from the target sectors are welcome and count in your favour.
NEURA scores proposals on four points: how new the technology is, how much it adds to Physical AI skills such as learning from few demonstrations, transfer to new objects, fine manipulation, working with people, long autonomy and speed, how mature it is with a path to TRL 6 to 7, and your record of piloting service robots.
Send one PDF of up to six pages in English or German, plus short CVs and any letters of intent, by email to mipa_research@neura-robotics.com. The call PDF linked from the page lists the required sections, including a work and cost plan.
Proposals close on 30 October 2026 at 24:00 CET. The NEURA Research Board plans to decide by 20 November 2026, and the first projects can start from 1 December 2026.
Quick answers
Is the robot platform free?
No. The MiPA platform is leased, and the leasing rate and the NEURA Gym Services are paid from the funding you receive.
Can early stage research apply?
Yes. No minimum TRL is needed at the start, but the project must have a credible path to TRL 6 to 7. Basic research with no piloting focus is not eligible.
Is this public money?
No. NEURA says it is a private funding initiative of NEURA Robotics GmbH, not a public grant.