NADI, the National Agency for Disruptive Innovation, will provide €40 million in funding to European research teams to develop next-generation energy-efficient AI chips. The initiative aims to dramatically accelerate the semiconductor design process from years to just weeks using artificial intelligence.
First initiative launched following Prinsjesdag announcement
This program marks NADI’s first official initiative since Economic Affairs Minister Heleen Herbert announced the agency on Prinsjesdag. The Dutch government reserved €500 million in the national budget for NADI to fund high-risk technological breakthroughs that traditional universities and private investors overlook.
Dutch-German partnership aims to reduce foreign chip dependency
NADI is partnering with SPRIND, Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, to co-fund the initiative. The joint program aims to strengthen European technological sovereignty and reduce energy consumption across current AI hardware systems.
"Europe runs its AI largely on foreign chips, despite having one of the strongest chip ecosystems in the world," stated NADI co-founder Beau-Anne Chilla. "The issue is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of early-stage funding when design ventures are too risky for commercial investors."Prime Minister Rob Jetten welcomed the cross-border collaboration, emphasizing that European nations must pool resources to develop future technologies independently.
Tiered selection process offers up to €9.6 million per winning team
Applications for the joint program open on 23 September and close on 30 November. The funding timeline proceeds in stages:
- Phase 1 (Initial selection): Seven teams will each receive €2.6 million in seed funding along with technical and commercial mentorship.
- Phase 2 (Follow-up funding): After eight months, regulators will select the top three teams to receive an additional €7 million each.
@ anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
