Austria just put fresh money and infrastructure behind AI-driven mobility innovation — and that should matter to drivers, fleet operators, suppliers and investors across Austria and neighbouring Germany. On 21 October 2026 the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) opened the competitive funding call “Mobilitätswende 2026/2 – Mobilitätssystem” with a total envelope of €12 million to support demonstrations and system innovations, explicitly allowing startups, universities and municipalities to apply. The call is open until 24 February 2027 and decisions are expected in May 2027, making this a concrete, short‑term opportunity for AI mobility projects seeking national proof‑of‑concept funding.
FFG money meets local innovation services
The FFG call focuses on real‑world demonstrators and system innovations — from traffic avoidance and modal shift to smart infrastructure — and lists startups, SMEs, research organisations and public bodies among eligible applicants. The agency ran an online information event on 22 October to explain the priorities and instruments and to offer matchmaking between applicants and potential local partners. For AI start‑ups working on perception, routing, predictive demand or freight‑shift software, the call’s combination of demonstration funding and matchmaking is designed to lower the barrier to large, urban or regional pilots.
Active ecosystem: EDIH support and Demo Days in Graz
At the same time regional innovation infrastructure is scaling up. Salzburg Research’s European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) “Crowd in Motion – AI” continues into 2026–2029 as a service platform for tourism, sport and mobility, running the IdeaSpace open innovation platform and local innovation days that help match public stakeholders with startups and research teams. That hub is already facilitating prototype testing and community engagement — a useful operational partner for teams that win FFG demonstrator funding and need piloting sites or user groups.
