Funding women-led innovation is no longer a question of why — but how. Open Horizons offers a bold new answer: a challenge-driven approach, connecting women-led deeptech startups with real-world industry needs from day one, supporting them through pilot and scaling up phases. It is the only EU-funded programme that combines gender equity, real corporate engagement, and challenge-based innovation funding with pilots, in one coherent journey.
This is not just another call for proposals. It’s a targeted matchmaking mechanism between Europe’s most pressing innovation challenges and the women-led startups best equipped to solve them.
Real challenges for real impact.
Unlike other initiatives that fund startups based primarily on business potential or founder profiles, Open Horizons starts with problems and not pitches.
We’ve worked closely with over 50 corporations across Europe to identify concrete, unsolved challenges across key sectors, some of them include:
- Energy: next-gen storage solutions to balance renewable energy inputs
- Industrial automation: predictive maintenance using edge AI
- Agritech: improved photosynthesis of microalgae
- Greentech: BuildingtTomorrow–low-carbon and c ircular construction solutions
- Advanced materials: sound absorbing, acoustic meta-materials
Each challenge will be co-developed with the corporates themselves, meaning that startups aren’t just building solutions, they’re solving for demand.
More than a grant: a full-frame scheme
Open Horizons offers:
- Up to €55,000 in equity-free funding per startup
- A co-designed pilot with a corporate partner
- Personalised mentoring and capacity-building through top-ranked accelerator, InnovX
- Exposure to Corporate Venture Capitals (CVCs), investors, and market entry pathways
- A chance to move from problem-solution fit to market fit faster and smarter
And all of this is designed exclusively for women-led startups working in deeptech and digital.
For women founders who have bold ambitions
Whether you’re tackling supply chain transparency, clean energy, ethical AI or advanced materials, Open Horizons is designed to match your bold solution with real market demand , and back you all the way from idea to pilot to scale.
First open call closes on 21 August at 17.00 CEST. Are you ready to skyrock to the challenge?
Before applying, read carefully the guidelines and the information provided on our website, here
The, ready to apply: application form