Pricing & Eligibility
Find the Right BRAIN++ Access Route for Your Project
Tier Comparison Table
Project Tier | Eligible Applicants | Cost Model | Participation | Minimum Score |
Small Projects / Services | All eligible applicants | Always free | Never | 60 |
Big Projects — Public / Research | Public institutions, research bodies, sovereign AI initiatives | Free | Never | 70 |
Big Projects — Private Companies | Startups, SMEs, scale-ups | Market-investor participation | Yes | 70 |
Strategic Projects | National or EU strategic initiatives | Free | No venture-style participation | 80 |
Core Projects | Predefined BRAIN++ foundational projects | Programme funded | No venture-style participation | Predefined |
Eligible Candidate Categories
Applicants may include:
- Startups
- Early-stage companies
- SMEs
- Scale-ups
- Research and innovation teams
- Academic institutions
- Applied research organisations
- Public sector organisations
- Government-related organisations
- Sovereign AI initiatives
- Strategic AI initiatives
Scoring Thresholds
Score | Meaning |
Below 60 | Not approved |
60+ | May qualify for Small Projects / Services |
70+ | May qualify for Big Projects |
75+ | Priority access candidate |
80+ | May qualify for Strategic Projects |
85+ | Strategic Fast-Track candidate |
Geographic Eligibility
BRAIN++ primarily supports Bulgaria, while also encouraging applications from South-East Europe and other EU Member States.
Where proposals are of equivalent quality, preference may be given to:
- Bulgarian projects
- South-East European projects
- Other EU Member State projects
Which Tier Should I Choose?
Choose Small Projects / Services if:
- You are testing an early AI idea
- You need a short feasibility check
- You need limited compute or expert advice
- You do not yet have milestones or KPIs
- You want to explore whether a Big Project is suitable later
Choose Big Projects if:
- You have a mature AI concept
- You need significant compute and expert support
- You can define milestones and KPIs
- You have a deployment or commercialisation pathway
- You need structured programme support
- You can commit to monitoring and reporting
Choose Strategic / Core Project routes if:
- The project has national or European strategic significance
- The project contributes to sovereign AI capacity
- The project creates reusable public AI infrastructure
- The project has long-term ecosystem impact
- The project aligns strongly with BRAIN++ strategic priorities