France is investing heavily in artificial intelligence. With the France 2030 plan, billions of euros mobilized by BPI France, and tax incentives like the Crédit d’Impôt Recherche, French businesses have a wide array of funding options for AI projects. Yet many SMEs and mid-caps miss out, either because they don’t know the programs exist or because the administrative complexity puts them off.
This post is your roadmap. We cover every major funding mechanism and explain what each one covers in practice.
Tax credits: CIR and CII
Crédit d’Impôt Recherche (CIR)
The CIR is France’s flagship R&D tax credit, and AI projects are fully eligible.
What it offers:
- 30% tax credit on R&D expenses (up to 100 million euros per year)
- 5% beyond 100 million
- 50% for companies in overseas territories
Eligible expenses:
- Salaries of researchers and research technicians (gross + employer contributions)
- Operating costs (flat rate of 40% of personnel costs, in effect since February 2025 and unchanged by the 2026 finance law)
- Subcontracting to approved research organizations
- Equipment depreciation dedicated to R&D
Important: the CIR does not cover simple deployment of existing AI tools. Your project must involve genuine scientific or technical uncertainty. Configuring ChatGPT for your customer service is not eligible. Developing a custom RAG system integrating your proprietary business data, however, may well be.
Crédit d’Impôt Innovation (CII)
Reserved for SMEs, the CII covers downstream innovation phases.
- 20% of eligible expenses (rate in effect since January 2025)
- Cap of 400,000 euros in expenses, yielding a maximum credit of 80,000 euros per year
- Higher rates in Corsica (35% for medium enterprises, 40% for small ones) and 60% in the overseas departments
- Eligibility: SMEs only (under 250 employees, turnover under 50 million euros)
- What’s covered: design of prototypes or pilot installations of new products with superior performance compared to existing products
- Validity: until December 31, 2027
BPI France: loans, grants, and diagnostics
BPI France offers a range of support for AI projects.
Aide pour le Développement de l’Innovation (ADI)
- Up to 2 million euros, as a mix of grant and repayable advance
- For breakthrough, technology-heavy R&D projects before industrial or commercial launch
- SMEs and mid-caps up to 2,000 employees, programmes of up to 36 months
- Expenses committed before you apply are not eligible
Prêt Innovation R&D
- Up to 3 million euros (“Classique” variant), capped at twice your equity and quasi-equity
- 5 to 8 year term, with 12 to 36 months of deferred repayment
- For SMEs and mid-caps up to 2,000 employees
Subvention Innovation
- Up to 50,000 euros for innovative SME projects in their maturation or feasibility phase
- Covers up to 50% of eligible expenses, up to 70% depending on company size
Osez l’IA France 2030
The former IA Booster France 2030 programme now runs under Bpifrance’s “Osez l’IA” plan, co-funded by the State:
- Free: a 15-minute AI self-assessment and the “Accélérez avec l’IA” library of use cases
- Diag Data IA (below) to identify and prioritise use cases
- Accélérateurs IA: 18 months of advisory, collective training and networking, for SMEs and mid-caps with over 8 million euros in revenue, more than 50 employees and at least 3 years of existence, 41% subsidised
Diag Data IA
8 days of work by a Bpifrance-approved data science and AI expert, spread over a maximum of 3 months:
- Technical and operational assessment, concrete use cases, prioritisation and a roadmap
- Quote capped at 10,000 euros excl. VAT, 40% subsidised through France 2030
- Cost for the company: 6,000 euros excl. VAT
- For SMEs and mid-caps with 10 to 2,000 employees, at least 1 million euros in revenue and more than one year of existence
A good starting point before applying for larger grants.
France 2030: AI calls for proposals
Pionniers de l’Intelligence Artificielle
The flagship France 2030 call for AI, operated by BPI France with Inria’s Agence de programmes Numérique.
| Phase | Purpose | Amount | Grant share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Technical feasibility | 100,000 to 200,000 EUR | 100% grant |
| Phase 2 | Demonstrator | 400,000 to 800,000 EUR | Up to 50% for companies |
| Phase 3 | Industrialization | 3 to 8 million EUR | Up to 50% for companies |
Status: the call no longer accepts new projects. Its last phase 1 intake closed on June 2, 2026, a week earlier than first announced. Projects already selected apply for phases 2 and 3 on a rolling basis, and each step is a new, selective application.
Priority sectors: industrial design and production, health, ecological transition, security (including cybersecurity).
For future France 2030 calls, watch Bpifrance’s list of open calls for projects. Calls open and close through the year, so check what is live when your project is ready.
Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes regional grants
For businesses in the Lyon area, several regional programs complement national funding.
R&D Booster Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
- Collaborative R&D: at least one company under 500 employees and one regional research organisation, four partners at most
- Project budget: 250,000 to 1 million euros, over 2 years at most
- Grant and/or zero-interest innovation loan for companies
- The 2026 session closed on March 3, 2026: watch the Region’s R&D Booster page for the next one
France 2030 Regionalized in ARA
- Financed jointly by the State and the Region, operated by Bpifrance
- “Transformation des PME par l’innovation”: aid of 75,000 to 500,000 euros, at most 50% of eligible expenses, on projects of at least 150,000 euros
- Grants for feasibility studies, repayable advances for development and pre-industrialisation
- Quarterly intake dates, subject to remaining budget: check the official France 2030 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes site for the current ones
Atouts Numériques
A 100% free program (funded by the Region and the EU’s FEDER fund) for businesses under 50 employees with at least 2 years of activity:
- Short format: 3.5 hours of one-to-one advice
- Structured format: 7 hours of one-to-one advice plus 3.5 hours of group training
- Topics include online visibility, digital marketing, management tools and cybersecurity
JEI status: for AI startups
The Jeune Entreprise Innovante (Young Innovative Company) status offers exemptions from employer social security contributions and family allowance contributions, particularly suited to AI startups whose main costs are engineer salaries.
Conditions:
- SME under 8 years old
- At least 20% of expenses dedicated to R&D (threshold raised in 2025)
- Capital at least 50% held by individuals or qualifying investors (other JEIs, research bodies, investment funds)
- Company created before December 31, 2028
Benefits:
- Exemption from employer social security and family allowance contributions
- On salaries up to about 8,400 euros per month (2026 figure)
- Capped at 240,300 euros per establishment per year
- For 7 years
New in 2026: the 2026 finance law created the JEII (Jeune entreprise d’innovation à impact), in force since February 21, 2026. It gives the same benefits to companies spending between 5% and 20% on R&D that also hold ESUS status or meet the social and solidarity economy (ESS) criteria.
Practical tips
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Distinguish R&D from integration. For the CIR, your project must involve genuine technical uncertainty. Document the state of the art, problems encountered, and approaches tested.
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Stack programs strategically. CIR + JEI + BPI France ADI can be combined. The CIR reduces taxes, JEI reduces social charges, ADI provides cash.
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Start with a diagnostic. Diag Data IA or Atouts Numériques are accessible entry points that produce documents useful for subsequent applications.
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Apply early. Earlier submission rounds generally have more budget available.
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Detail the budget and ROI. Justify every expense line and show financial viability beyond the grant period.
Do you already have an AI project in mind?
At Flowful AI, we build AI solutions for French businesses. Many of our projects qualify for the programs above, and we structure them so grant applications are easier to put together. With an office near Brussels and a team in Lyon, we work with SMEs and mid-caps across France.
Book a discovery call to scope your AI project. We can point out which funding routes are likely to apply. The application itself is then best handled by you directly, or through a specialised cabinet.