HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-02: Boosting Creative Startups for Disruptive Innovation

This Horizon Europe topic, officially titled “Boosting creative startups for disruptive innovation,” is one of the few Cluster 2 topics that is an Innovation Action rather than a research topic, and it is judged on outcomes you can point at: at least one creative startup that becomes a scaleup, or at least one that brings a disruptive innovation to market, as a result of methods the project developed.

Call at a Glance

To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants are awarded not only in ranking order but also to the highest-ranked proposal under each of the two options below, provided all thresholds are met.

Expected Outcomes

Projects should contribute to all of the following:

• Deepened knowledge of the specific factors favouring the growth of creative startups, particularly those with potential for disruptive or cross-sectorial innovation, made available to policymakers, investors, and funding and enterprise support bodies.
• Effective methods to favour that growth are developed, tested, and put into practice by industry, investors, funding and enterprise support bodies, and relevant decision-makers.
• Examples of creative startups scaling up or engaging in disruptive innovation are made available, increasing the visibility of the innovative power of Europe’s creative startups.

Plus at least one of the following, depending on the chosen option:

• The effectiveness of the methods developed is demonstrated by at least one creative startup supported via the action becoming a scaleup in a Member State or Associated Country.
• The effectiveness of the methods developed is demonstrated by at least one creative startup or scaleup succeeding in bringing a disruptive innovation to market.

Scope: What Proposals Should Address

The call’s starting point is that cultural and creative industries have a high startup rate and are early adopters of new technology. The European Monitor of Industrial Ecosystems (2024) found AI-based technology startups were most common in the CCIs and the health sector. Creative startups also drive innovation through crossovers into other sectors.

The challenge set out in the topic is to deepen understanding of the factors that favour scaling in Europe and unlock disruptive innovation potential, with particular focus on what distinguishes creative startups from startups in other sectors.

Proposals must choose one of:

• Option a: Boosting the growth of creative startups into scaleups.
• Option b: Boosting creative startups or scaleups with a potential for disruptive innovation.

Approaches may build on existing methods such as shared technological resources and platforms that lower investment needs, credible assessments of technologies, IPR or creative companies to increase investor readiness, and matchmaking platforms. But the call is explicit: approaches developed under this action should be innovative and go beyond existing ones, while remaining effective and feasible across Europe under the current legal framework.

Validation requirement: projects should carry out at least three pilot trials in different settings under real-world-like conditions, piloting either the scaling-up of a creative startup or positioning one to bring disruptive innovation to market, according to the chosen option.

Definitions Used in This Topic

• A creative startup is a private company falling under the cultural and creative industries definition in the European Parliament Resolution on a coherent EU policy for CCIs, younger than ten years, with an innovative product, service, or business model it aims to scale.
• Disruptive innovation follows the European Innovation Council sense, but with no requirement to be deep tech: an innovation that radically changes the way of doing things and thereby creates new markets or significantly affects existing markets, firms, the public sector, or society.
• A scaleup follows the OECD definition of 20% or more annual growth in employees or turnover over three consecutive years, relaxed here so that such growth over one year or two consecutive years is sufficient.

Ecosystem to Build On

Projects should take advantage of previous research, networks, policy initiatives, and infrastructure, including EIT Culture and Creativity, Cultural and Creative Regional Ecosystems, Digital Innovation Hubs in the cultural and creative sectors, Creative Innovation Labs, business incubators and accelerators, and venture capital networks. The topic is framed against the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy (COM(2025) 270).

Eligibility and Consortium Requirements

Standard Horizon Europe eligibility applies (General Annex B). Financial support to third parties of up to EUR 60 000 in grant form may be used to engage diverse innovative creative startups, facilitate uptake of the project’s solutions, experiment with new approaches, or bring in co-financing funders. Projects funded under this topic are expected to establish coordination mechanisms with each other.

Where to Apply

Proposals are submitted through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Check the official topic page and the Cluster 2 work programme for authoritative conditions.

Related Calls in This Destination

Also closing 23 September 2026 under the cultural heritage and creative industries destination:

• HORIZON-CL2-2026-01-HERITAGE-01 — Artistic intelligence
• See all HORIZON-CL2-2026-01 calls

Building a Proposal for This Topic?

We partner in Horizon Europe consortia and run our own studio and accelerator: evaluating business models, matching them with deep tech, and working with founding teams through to funding. That fits the method design, real-world pilots, and third-party support this topic asks for, with software, AI and tech development for shared platforms and matchmaking.

Read more about how we work in Horizon consortia, or browse our wider projects and research.