AI Funding for Small Firms in Germany

This article covers German public funding programmes, open to businesses with an office or site in Germany; the linked pages are in German. As of 31 October 2026, a small German business rarely gets AI funding from an AI-only programme; the money comes from consulting, digitalisation and training programmes in which AI projects fit. Running programmes include the BAFA consulting grant (50 or 80 percent, at most 1,750 or 2,800 euros), INQA coaching (80 percent of up to twelve consulting days), the KfW ERP digitalisation loan (grant of up to 5 percent), employee training support and state programmes such as Bavaria's Digitalbonus (up to 50 percent, at most 7,500 or 30,000 euros). go-digital and Digital Jetzt have ended. Almost everywhere: apply first, then sign. Whether your project is funded is decided by the funding body.

This is not funding advice. All details come from the funding bodies' own pages as of 31 October 2026. Programmes change at short notice, so read the linked page before you apply.

AI funding in Germany 2026: the programmes at a glance

The table is a selection; more programmes are in the federal Förderdatenbank, filterable by state.

Apply first, then sign

Almost every programme forbids starting before the funding body has agreed, and starting often means placing the order:

• BAFA: Consulting may only begin after the information letter from the coordinating office, and signing the consulting contract already counts as the start.
• Digitalbonus Bavaria: After the confirmation of receipt you may start at your own risk; before that, even a verbal order counts as the start.
• INQA coaching: The coaching voucher allows an early start, at your own risk.
• KfW and L-Bank: Apply for the loan through your bank before the project begins.
• MID-Digitalisierung: No start and no binding contracts before the grant decision.
• Federal Employment Agency: Apply early; the training provider must present the education voucher before the course starts.

Collect quotes, but do not sign.

Federal programmes in detail

Consulting: BAFA business consulting grant

BAFA subsidises consulting on all economic, financial, personnel and organisational questions of running a business, for SMEs with fewer than 250 employees. Whether consulting on AI use qualifies is checked by the coordinating office and BAFA. Eligible costs are capped at 3,500 euros: 80 percent, at most 2,800 euros, in the eastern states and the regions of Lüneburg and Trier; 50 percent, at most 1,750 euros, in the western states including Berlin and the Leipzig region.

Seminars, workshops and group events are not funded, nor is consulting aimed at buying what the consultant sells. The guideline runs until 31 December 2028, with changed conditions for applications from 1 January 2027, for example applications only via ELSTER or BundID. Source: BAFA, Unternehmensberatung.

Coaching: INQA coaching

INQA coaching, funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour, helps SMEs stay competitive and attractive to skilled workers through digital change. Requirements: fewer than 250 employees, at least one full-time position subject to social insurance, at least two years in business. Up to twelve consulting days at no more than 1,200 euros net each are funded at 80 percent. You pay first and are reimbursed afterwards. A regional INQA advice centre issues the voucher after a free initial consultation, until 30 June 2028. Source: INQA coaching, information for SMEs.

Loan with grant: KfW ERP digitalisation loan

Since 1 July 2025 the ERP-Förderkredit Digitalisierung (511, 512) has replaced the old loan 380. Level 1 (basic digitalisation) has no grant; level 2, for example process digitalisation, carries a 3 percent grant. Level 3 explicitly names integrating artificial intelligence into value-creating areas of the business, provided internal company data is used, with a 5 percent grant, at most 200,000 euros. There is no minimum loan; you apply through your bank. Source: KfW, ERP-Förderkredit Digitalisierung.

Training: support for employee training

Under section 82 of the German Social Code III, expanded by the Qualifizierungschancengesetz of 2019, the Federal Employment Agency can pay course fees and wage subsidies. With fewer than 50 employees the employer should not have to contribute to course fees, and the wage subsidy is up to 75 percent; with 50 to 499 employees it is 50 percent each.

For AI training the bar is high: more than 120 hours, approved course and provider, more than short job-specific adaptation, and no training on company-specific software. A one-day workshop on an AI tool does not qualify; a longer approved course on AI and data analysis can. The AI literacy duty is covered in AI Literacy Under the AI Act: Training Staff. Sources: Federal Employment Agency, section 82 SGB III.

Free instead of a grant: Mittelstand-Digital centres

The Mittelstand-Digital centres pay no money; they offer free, vendor-neutral orientation and workshops on digitalisation and AI. According to the economics ministry (20 October 2026), the current network ends in late 2026; a new network starts on 1 January 2027 with six regional centres, and eleven sector and topic centres are to follow by mid-2027. Some centres have already closed; Kaiserslautern's funding ran until July 2026. Ask your regional centre what is still on offer. Source: Mittelstand-Digital.

AI funding in the German states: three examples

Bavaria: Digitalbonus

Bavaria's Digitalbonus runs until 31 December 2027 and explicitly names robotics and artificial intelligence among its funding topics. Eligible are commercial firms with a site in Bavaria, fewer than 50 employees and at most 10 million euros turnover or balance sheet; liberal professions and medical practices are excluded. Digitalbonus Standard pays up to 50 percent, at most 7,500 euros; Digitalbonus Plus, for projects with particular innovative content, up to 30,000 euros. The minimum is 4,000 euros of eligible costs, standard software is excluded, and a quota is released monthly. Source: Digitalbonus Bayern.

Baden-Württemberg: L-Bank digitalisation financing

Since 1 July 2025 L-Bank's Digitalisierungsfinanzierung has been the successor to the Digitalisierungsprämie Plus: a loan via your bank with repayment grants, for example 5 percent in levels 2 and 3 for projects up to 250,000 euros. Level 3b is called KI-Digitalisierung (AI digitalisation), with a free L-Bank AI check. Source: L-Bank.

North Rhine-Westphalia: MID-Digitalisierung

Since 1 January 2026 MID-Digitalisierung no longer funds internal digitalisation, only the development of your own digital product, for example with AI, for a specific target group. The grant is 50 percent, at most 15,000 euros, from 4,000 euros; a monthly lottery comes before the application. Source: NRW.BANK.

Ended: go-digital and Digital Jetzt

Search for "go-digital funding" and you still find many provider pages. According to its own programme page, go-digital ended on 31 December 2024, and no further applications can be made. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs also describes the Digital Jetzt investment programme as ended.

What to clarify before you apply

1. Your project in three sentences: which process changes, what is different afterwards, who implements it. Unsure where AI fits? Start with AI Readiness Assessment for Small Businesses.
2. Company size: almost all programmes use the EU SME definition; Bavaria's Digitalbonus uses a narrower limit.
3. Earlier state aid: many grants are de minimis aid; declare earlier funding. Double funding of the same measure is usually excluded.
4. The order: collect quotes, but sign nothing before approval.

How to introduce AI afterwards is in Bringing AI to a Small Business.

Frequently asked questions

Is there funding just for AI?

None of the programmes checked here funds AI alone; AI is named explicitly in Bavaria's Digitalbonus, the KfW digitalisation loan and L-Bank's programme.

Is a ChatGPT or Claude subscription funded?

None of the programmes is designed for that; Bavaria's Digitalbonus excludes standard software. Whether a project fits is decided by the approving authority.

Can I combine several programmes?

For the same measure, usually not; BAFA and MID-Digitalisierung explicitly exclude double funding. Whether separate measures can each be funded is for the funding body to say.

What happened to go-digital?

It ended on 31 December 2024. For consulting, the BAFA grant remains; for implementation, KfW and the state programmes.

I run a business outside Germany. Can I apply?

Only with an office or site in Germany, for example for BAFA, INQA and the Digitalbonus; KfW also accepts foreign companies for German subsidiaries, branches or sites.

Is there funding for solo self-employed people?

Partly. KfW and BAFA explicitly include liberal professions. INQA coaching requires at least one full-time position subject to social insurance, and training support requires employees.

Where to go from here

Start with the programme page that fits your project, not with a provider: BAFA for consulting, the Digitalbonus for implementation in Bavaria, KfW for a larger project. Use their own advice: the INQA initial consultation is free, for Digitalbonus Plus Bavaria asks you to contact the district government before applying, and NRW.BANK has its own funding advice.

I offer trainings and workshops myself, for teams, on site at your company or remotely; see AI Training and Workshops for Teams. Whether an offer, mine included, fits a programme is for the funding body to decide. How I onboard my AI employees and check their results is something I show in my community AI Employee Framework.