Funding for AI in companies: what still applies in 2027

All programmes at a glance

Green is running, sand is ending soon, blue has been announced for 2027, grey has ended.

INQA coaching: 80 per cent for consulting on digital work

INQA coaching is the most important grant programme for 2027. The federal government covers 80 % of the costs for up to 12 coaching days within seven months, at a daily rate of at most €1,200 net. The new funding guideline of June 2026 allows vouchers until 30.06.2028.

Coaching is funded when digitalisation changes work, processes or collaboration in the company. Employees are involved. AI is not mentioned explicitly in the guideline. Introducing AI tools, however, is often exactly this kind of change: new processes, new rules, new tasks in the team.

• Who: Companies with fewer than 250 employees, at least two years on the market, with at least one full-time position subject to social insurance.
• How: First a free initial consultation at an INQA advice centre, then you receive the coaching voucher.
• Important: The coaching may only be carried out by an authorised INQA coach. Software and technical implementation are not funded.

BAFA consulting grant: only until the end of 2026

According to BAFA, the funding of business consulting for small and medium-sized enterprises applies until 31.12.2026. No extension or successor has been published on the BAFA or ESF pages so far.

Consulting on economic, financial, staffing and organisational questions of running a business is funded. In Hesse and the other former West German states, BAFA pays 50 % of at most €3,500, i.e. up to €1,750 per consultation. Seminars and workshops are excluded, as is consulting that serves to sell the consultant’s own products.

Anyone who wants AI consulting funded in 2026 has to be quick: The application comes before the contract with the consultant, and signing the contract already counts as the start.

KfW digitalisation loan: for AI projects with your own data

For larger projects such as your own AI application, the ERP digitalisation loan from KfW may be an option (programme 511, with liability exemption 512). It is applied for via your house bank before the project starts.

• Funded: Hardware and software and their implementation, explicitly including consultant costs. At levels 2 and 3 also the training of employees.
• AI: Level 3 requires that AI plays a significant role and that internal company data is used. Standard software with built-in AI functions does not count.
• Grant: At levels 2 and 3 there is also an ERP grant of at most €200,000. Level 1 is a pure loan.

If you develop AI yourself, i.e. do research rather than just use it, you can also look into the research allowance (Forschungszulage). For small and medium-sized enterprises it amounts to 35 % of eligible expenses.

Training via the Federal Employment Agency

The Federal Employment Agency funds training for employees under Book III of the Social Code. For small businesses the grants are high: With fewer than 50 employees, course fees are usually covered in full and 75 % of wages during the training are reimbursed.

The conditions, however, only fit longer courses: more than 120 hours, with a provider approved for funding, with content that goes beyond the individual workplace. Training on company-specific software is explicitly not eligible. A half-day AI workshop or training under Article 4 of the EU AI Act therefore does not qualify.

Mittelstand-Digital: free AI trainers from 2027

The Mittelstand-Digital centres have so far offered free events, including offers from AI trainers. According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, funding for the existing centres ends gradually by the end of December 2026. A new nationwide network is due to start from 2027, again with AI trainers and free of charge for companies. The regional centres are due to begin from January 2027.

These offers are good for a first overview. For your own processes, rules and tools you will then usually need consulting or training tailored to your business.

What became of Digital Jetzt, go-digital and the DIGI-Zuschuss

• Digital Jetzt was limited until the end of 2023. No successor programme has been published.
• go-digital ended when its guideline expired on 31.12.2024.
• DIGI-Zuschuss Hessen: WIBank states that the programme ended when its funding phase expired in June 2026 and that no further calls are planned. Most recently it offered up to 50 %, at most €10,000, for hardware and software and related training.

Anyone looking for a successor today will not find one for grants towards software and hardware. For such investments, the KfW loan remains the main option.

How to proceed

1. Clarify the project. Consulting, training or your own application? This determines which programme fits. The free AI check shows in two minutes where AI saves you time.
2. Choose the programme. Consulting on change in the team: INQA coaching. An application with your own data: KfW. Long training courses: Federal Employment Agency.
3. Apply first, then commission. For almost all programmes: The application comes before the contract. If you sign first, you lose the funding.
4. Ask the provider. Check beforehand whether the consultant, coach or training provider is approved for the programme.
5. Pay for small steps yourself. Half a day of training or an initial consultation is often not funded. The effort of an application is mainly worthwhile for larger projects.

We review the information in this article regularly. The next review is in January 2027, after the end of the BAFA guideline and the start of the new Mittelstand-Digital centres.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. INQA coaching, information for SMEs, inqa.de (in German)
2. INQA coaching guideline of 12.06.2026, Federal Gazette BAnz AT 22.06.2026 B2 (in German)
3. BAFA, funding of business consulting for SMEs (in German)
4. BAFA, information sheet on the grant, as of 18.05.2026 (in German)
5. ESF Plus, funding of business consulting for SMEs (in German)
6. KfW, information sheet ERP digitalisation loan (511/512) (in German)
7. Federal Employment Agency, training for employees (in German)
8. BMWE, Mittelstand-Digital funding announcement of 15.12.2025 (in German)
9. Mittelstand-Digital, FAQ on the funding announcement (in German)
10. DLR project management agency, Digital Jetzt (in German)
11. BMWE, report on innovation and technology funding in SMEs (go-digital) (in German)
12. WIBank, DIGI-Zuschuss (in German)
13. Research allowance certification office (in German)

Updated: 28 October 2026. This article is not legal advice.