Research Premium 2026: What Companies Need to Know Now

What to expect in this issue

• Deep Dive - Research Premium 2026
• StartMatch News - Our tool now does research for you
• FörderRadar - New and expiring grants

🤿 Deep Dive: The New Research Premium - What Changes in 2026

In our Deep Dive, we regularly present a financing or funding topic in detail.

Austria's research premium remains a key instrument for financing research & development in 2026. However, the new Research Premium Guidelines 2025 (FoPR 2025) introduce several substantive clarifications and tighter requirements that companies should be aware of.

What Stays the Same?

The good news first:

• Premium rate remains at 14% of eligible expenditures
• Open to all industries and topics
• Applies to both in-house research and contract research
• Premium available even when operating at a loss

What's New in 2026?

The changes primarily affect the substantive evaluation and documentation of R&D rather than the funding rate itself.

Stricter Delineation of R&D

The new guidelines align even more closely with the OECD Frascati Manual. Only activities that meet all five R&D criteria are eligible:

• Novelty
• Creative activity
• Technical or scientific uncertainty
• Systematic approach
• Transferability / Reproducibility

Routine development, pure implementation, and product adaptations are more clearly excluded.

Software & Digitalization: Greater Focus, but Not Automatically Eligible

Software projects remain eligible when they deliver genuine technological advancement. No longer sufficient are:

• Pure feature extensions
• Standard software development
• Traditional IT implementation projects

Eligible examples include:

• Novel algorithms
• New system architectures
• Solutions to previously unsolved technical problems

Documentation Becomes Decisive

A central theme of the reform:

• Clean project delineation
• Clear description of technical uncertainty
• Traceable development logic and iterations

The FFG continues to review content - with higher standards for traceability.

Less Leeway on Costs

The guidelines specify more precisely which costs are eligible and which are not:

• Eligible: Personnel, R&D-related infrastructure, prototypes
• Restricted: Patents, certifications, market launch - now only to a very limited extent
• Excluded: Sales, scaling, series production

For prototypes, pilot plants, and software in particular, the temporal delineation is critical.

What Does This Mean for You?

• Earlier and better structuring of R&D projects becomes more important
• Technical argumentation gains weight over purely economic objectives
• Eligibility should be considered from the very start of a project

Companies that document their R&D activities thoroughly and set them up strategically will continue to benefit significantly from the research premium.

Not Sure if Your Project Qualifies?

The new rules for the research premium bring more clarity, but also more pitfalls. We'll review your project free of charge and with no obligation, and show you whether and how you can make the most of the research premium. Send us a message at robert@startmatch.ai and we'll arrange a free video call.

🗞️ StartMatch News: Our Tool Now Does Research for You

We heard your feedback! You can now run AI-powered research directly within the StartMatch tool.

Research is often critical when preparing grant and financing applications, especially for:

• Market analyses
• Competitive and competitor research
• Technology and trend analyses

What's new: The AI delivers not only structured results but also all sources. This knowledge is automatically integrated into your grant application. You no longer need to copy content from external research tools - you can handle research and application drafting in one place.

Under the hood, it runs Google Gemini 3.0 Pro, currently the most powerful AI for in-depth research.

How it works:

1. In the "Start & Sources" tab, select the AI Research option
2. Enter a suitable prompt, e.g.:
   • "Conduct a competitive analysis for [product/service] and identify innovative competitors in the DACH region"
   • "Describe the current state of the art in [technology] and highlight existing limitations."
   • "Compare [own solution] with existing technologies and identify technical differences."
   • "What technological trends are shaping the field of [industry/technology] over the next 5 years?"
   • "What arguments support classifying [project] as research or experimental development?"
3. The AI creates a structured research output including source references
4. You can review the result directly, adjust the prompt, or refine further
5. The knowledge is automatically incorporated into your grant application

We would love to hear your feedback on the new AI research feature! Let us know which prompts work particularly well for you or what we can improve further.

📡 FörderRadar: New and Expiring Grants

Important news about grants in Austria.

These Grants Are Open for Submission

Basisprogramm 2026
Open since 01.01.2026 - Submission deadline 31.12.2026

Basisprogramm Kleinprojekt 2026
Open since 01.01.2026 - Submission deadline 31.12.2026

Collective Research
Open since 01.01.2026 - Submission deadline 31.12.2026

Frontrunner 2026
Open since 01.01.2026 - Submission deadline 31.12.2026

Impact Innovation 2026
Open since 01.01.2026 - Submission deadline 31.12.2026

Innovationsscheck mit Selbstbehalt
Open since 01.01.2026 - Submission deadline 31.12.2026

Markt.Einstieg 2026
Open since 01.01.2026 - Submission deadline 31.12.2026

Patent.Scheck 2026
Open since 01.01.2026 - Submission deadline 31.12.2026

Projekt.Start 2026
Open since 01.01.2026 - Submission deadline 31.12.2026

These Grants Are Expiring Soon

KIRAS/K-PASS Innovation
Submission deadline only until 30.01.2026

Digitale Transformation in der Mobilität & Rail4Climate
Submission deadline only until 28.01.2026

Best of luck with your projects!

Best regards,
Robert & your StartMatch Team 👋