AI Project Support Call

The AI Track aims to

• Foster creation of new AI startups at EPFL with the potential for fast deployment.
• Accelerate the development of AI-based technologies with potential for impact in society, industry, or science.
• Support teams accelerating from technical validation toward their first customers and market traction. 
• Give founders who have just finished their studies an initial launchpad, with critical early support to get their startup off the ground.
• Provide access to key resources that enable faster iteration, testing, and go-to-market.

Who is this support for?

We support early-stage AI startups with strong technical foundations and clear commercial potential. To be eligible, projects must meet all of the following criteria:

• You are building a startup, not an exploratory research project. You can describe the market, the customer, and a credible path to first revenue or real market traction. We prioritize commercial opportunity over purely technical exploration. 

• Speed matters. The program is short and fast-paced. Priority goes to projects that can demonstrably accelerate toward go-to-market within six months. 

• Not yet incorporated. The project must not be a registered company (no Sàrl, SA, or equivalent) or affiliated to an existing company (R&D, spinoff,…). The AI Track supports projects before incorporation. 

• EPFL-affiliated or a recent alum. At least one founder must be currently affiliated with EPFL (researcher, PhD, or postdoc) or an EPFL Master’s alum who graduated or Master’s student graduate by end of August 2026.
  • For Format A, having a host lab is expected;
  • Format B is for EPFL Master’s alumni who graduated or students who will graduate by end of August 2026.
    Please note that Bachelor students, and Master’s students not graduating by end of August 2026, will not be considered.
• Beyond the idea stage. You have a working prototype. 
• Commercially focused. You are testing the use case and collecting feedback from potential users, clients, or partners. You may not have traction yet, but you are moving quickly toward it. 

• AI is at the core of your innovation. Your project advances AI technologies (new algorithms, embedded AI systems, model efficiency, or optimization) or relies on AI as a core enabler. Projects using existing AI tools are eligible only if they show first signs of market validation. 

• Your team is ready to execute fast. You have the technical and operational capacity to move the project forward over the next 6 months.

AI Track details

The call runs a single application with two tracks. Choose the track that matches your situation. 

Format A

• For: EPFL researchers, PhDs, postdocs, or founders with an affiliated EPFL lab. 
• Funding: up to CHF 50,000. 
• If salary: can fund the founder or a recruited team member; PhDs and postdocs are paid at the scientist rate. 
• IP: managed by your host lab under standard EPFL rules. 

Format B

• For: founders who complete their EPFL Master between 1 January and 31 August 2026
• Funding: CHF 20,000 for a solo founder, or CHF 40,000 for two co-founders. 
• If salary: covers the founder and at most one co-founder, at the intern rate. 
• IP: Reviewed case-by-case, depending on what was developed and when. 

Common to both tracks 

Duration: up to 6 months. 

Eligible costs: 

• Salaries for project team members (for EPFL alumni, PhDs, and postdocs) 
• Cloud computing and AI infrastructure 
• Technical outsourcing (prototyping, data annotation, user testing, UX & UI design) 

Using the grant as salary: drawing a salary requires an EPFL employment contract; pay follows the EPFL salary grid and includes the mandatory employer charges. The rate depends on profile: recent Master alumni are paid at the intern rate, PhDs and postdocs at the scientist rate. 

Please note: 

• Legal and incorporation fees, IP costs, and marketing expenses are not eligible. 
• This support is strictly exclusive with other EPFL grants: receiving the AI Track grant makes you ineligible for an EPFL Ignition Grant or Innogrant. These instruments cannot be combined or held together. 
• This initiative is powered by UBS and provides selected AI startup projects with targeted, flexible support, with no strings attached. Recipients may be invited to take part in shared communication activities with EPFL and UBS, and to share updates that may inform future AI innovation support programs.

Additional support for selected projects

Selected teams will also receive: 

• Access to a co-working space at EPFL or at EPFL Innovation Park (final anchoring confirmed at selection). 
• Connections to EPFL researchers, labs, and academic mentors. 
• Opportunities to interface with EPFL industrial partners. 
• Design coaching (UX/UI or customer research support). 
• Integration into the EPFL startup community and peer events. 

Submission process and timeline?

All applications are evaluated by a jury. Projects are assessed on their overall potential, the maturity and balance of the project across customer and market, technology, business model, team, IP and funding, the clarity and relevance of the budget, and the team’s capacity and commitment to execute over the program. Selection places particular weight on the strength of the business opportunity and the team’s ability to accelerate toward market within the six-month program.