Collaborative Industrial Research and Support to Innovative Entrepreneurship — Stream 3

This grant provides substantial funding support designed to foster large-scale innovation projects and entrepreneurial collaboration through AI-driven solutions. The financing modalities are structured to maximize the impact and viability of eligible projects.

• Co-financing is offered up to 50% of admissible project expenses, with a maximum funding limit of CAD 1,500,000 per project.
• Cumulative government funding for the project can reach a maximum of 75% of total project expenses.

Eligibility for this grant is determined by specific requirements related to the project scope and collaborative efforts in the field of artificial intelligence.

• The project must involve a grouping of at least two Quebec-based companies.
• Eligible projects are those that demonstrate potential for significant short-term impacts.
• The company grouping must share costs, benefits, and intellectual property related to the innovation project.
• Each eligible company partner must plan to hire at least one intern per year as part of the project.
• The project must focus on product or process innovation utilizing artificial intelligence from planning to pre-commercialization stages.
• The project should either involve the development of a new product/process or a significant improvement of an existing one.
• The innovation must present a decisive advantage over current market solutions.
• The project must entail a technological or business risk or uncertainty for the company.
• There must be efforts in research and development associated with the project.
• The project should demonstrate commercial potential if intended for sale.

Who is eligible?

Who is not eligible

Based on the grant information provided, there is no mention of specific types of companies that are not eligible for the grant.

Eligible expenses

The eligible projects for this grant focus on the development and improvement of products or processes by leveraging artificial intelligence, in collaboration with multiple businesses. These initiatives require significant R&D efforts and aim to offer competitive advantages in the market.

• Development of a new product utilizing artificial intelligence.
• Improvement of an existing process with AI integration.
• Collaboration among at least two Quebec-based businesses sharing costs and benefits.
• Hiring at least one intern per partner business annually.
• Real-world demonstration projects up to pre-commercialization phase.

Eligible geographic areas

This grant supports collaborative projects involving at least two companies from Quebec. Only Quebec-based businesses are eligible for this funding stream, reflecting a regional focus on fostering local innovation.

• Quebec, Canada

Yes, there are evaluation and selection criteria for this grant. Below is a summary followed by the detailed criteria.

The evaluation and selection criteria for the grant focus on the project's relevance to innovation, technological risk, and potential commercial benefits. The project must demonstrate significant improvements, collaboration, and alignment with the objectives of the grant program.

• Project relevance to innovation in product or process.
• Demonstrate a significant improvement over existing solutions.
• Involve two or more Quebec-based companies in the collaboration.
• Each participating company must employ at least one intern annually.
• Share costs, benefits, and intellectual property among participating companies.
• Demonstrate potential for significant short-term benefits.
• Display technological or business risk and uncertainty.
• Necessitate efforts in research and development.
• Show potential for commercial success if the product/process is intended for sale.
• Adhere to a maximum project duration of 18 months.
• Maximize government aid at 50% of eligible expenses, up to a maximum of $1,500,000 per project.
• Ensure total government aid does not exceed 75% of total project expenses.

Outlined below are additional relevant details for this grant:

• The maximum aid cap is 1,500,000 CAD per project, which cannot exceed 50% of eligible expenses.
• The cumulative aid limit from government sources cannot exceed 75% of the project's total expenses.
• The maximum allowable project duration is 18 months.
• Applicants must submit their application electronically by the specified deadline.
• There are specific software requirements for accessing and completing application documents, namely Adobe Reader version 10 or later.