Concept consulting & prototype for your AI project – with a 50% NRW grant
Together we identify the AI use case that pays off for your business and prove its effectiveness and feasibility before the productive rollout. Includes free support with your funding application.
50%
Grant rate
The state covers half of the eligible expenditure.
€25,000
Max. grant
Per SME, for a project volume of €10,000 to €50,000 net.
2
Funding modules
Module A (concept & potential analysis), Module B (prototype/test).
€0
Application risk
Free application support and a standards-compliant service description.
Funding calculator
What does your AI project really cost you?
Move the planned project volume and instantly see how much the State of NRW covers – and what share you keep.
Funding calculator
Your share and the grant in seconds
Your share
50%
€15,000
NRW.BANK grant
50%
€15,000
Non-binding example calculation. The maximum grant is €25,000 per SME.
Eligible services
What is funded – and what is not
The programme funds AI concept consulting and the testing of a working prototype. Pure software procurement or classic IT consulting is excluded.
Eligible
Concept consulting
Identification of application areas, feasibility, data & GDPR review.
Prototype development
Development of a working test version (e.g. agentic RAG, internal assistants, process bots) and testing with company data.
Test infrastructure
Up to 25% of the test expenditure for computing power, infrastructure and licences during the test phase.
Not eligible
- Pure procurement of standard software licences without testing.
- Purely rule-based automation ("if-then" scripts without AI methods).
- Standard IT consulting without a specific AI focus.
- Productive rollout and ongoing operation after the test phase.
How we work together
How the collaboration works
You submit the funding application yourself – we handle the content and technical preparation.
Your part as an SME
- Registration in the NRW.BANK customer portal
- Provision of business key figures (SME criteria: < 250 employees, revenue ≤ €50m)
- Final digital signature
Our part (1Grain.tech)
- Design of the use case
- Drafting the service description & the standardised proposal outline
- Technical implementation of the concept & prototype after approval
Initial application consultation
Request a free funding consultation
In 30 minutes we jointly check whether your project falls under NRW.BANK.Impuls KI, assign it to Module A or B and outline the funding framework.
- Initial assessment of eligibility
- Assignment to Module A or Module B
- Next steps for your application
FAQ