One-liner: València's flagship municipal innovation subsidy — €1,000,000 to fund innovation projects that solve a real city challenge in one of 8 strategic areas and are tested live in the Urban Sandbox. Up to €100,000 per project, non-dilutive, awarded by competitive concurrence. Run by Valencia Innovation Capital (Servicio de Innovación).
⚠️ 2026-07-05 update: application window is now CLOSED. Confirmed live on the official procedure page (sede.valencia.es, AE.IN.25): the window ran 17 April 2026 to 18 May 2026 (BOP nº 71, published 15 Apr 2026) — not just "1 month from an unconfirmed BOP date" as previously flagged
#status/verify. Resolution is due within 6 months of window close (i.e. by roughly mid-November 2026); administrative silence after that = rejection ("Silenci Administratiu: Desestimatori"). No 2027 edition has been announced — monitor the same procedure page for the next call. This means: founders reading this today cannot apply to this specific 2026 call — point them to the Urban Sandbox (always open) and other funding lines meanwhile, and flag this program for re-check closer to Nov 2026 / whenever a new edition opens.
⚠️ 2026 restructure (do not regress): the 2025 two-track split — Startups Seed (≤€25k, €600k pool) and Early Stage (€25k–€50k, €400k pool) — no longer exists. For 2026 the Ayuntamiento merged both into a single competitive call ("Subvenciones Públicas a la Innovación de la Ciutat de València"), €1M total, up to €100k/project, with mandatory Urban Sandbox testing. Source: VIC-Convocatoria-2026 (bases) + VIC-Acuerdo-JGL-2026 (JGL initiation decree, 10 Mar 2026).
What you get
- Non-dilutive grant up to €100,000 per project (no equity). Total pool €1,000,000.
- 75% paid up front on award; remaining 25% after the final justification is approved.
- No bank guarantee (aval) required — waived given the experimental/social nature of the projects.
- Priority access to the Valencia Urban Sandbox (real-world piloting in city spaces, infrastructure and events) and preferential space at La Harinera (VIC) (c/ Juan Verdeguer 32).
- Justification-support service and possible integration of project data into the VLCi city data platform.
Who it's for
Eligible applicants (RES 01), must meet requirements at the close of the submission window:
- Individuals registered as autónomos (RETA / mutua).
- Legal persons acting as businesses/professionals: startups (empresas emergentes), technology institutes, non-profits, foundations, NGOs.
- Universities and research centres / teams.
- Public companies / entities dependent on public administrations (except those of the Ajuntament de València itself).
- Not eligible (RES 02): public administrations themselves (may join as tutor/partner/alliance only); entities without legal personality (comunidad de bienes, sociedad civil, etc.).
- An applicant may submit as many distinct projects as they wish (RES 03).
The 8 Strategic Innovation Areas (AEI) — the subsidisable scope
A project must target one or more of these (RPI 01):
- AEI 01 – GovTech — digital tech to improve public services / gov-citizen relationship, data & AI for the city.
- AEI 02 – AgroTech — sensing, data, AI & automation for the agri-food sector and the Valencian huerta.
- AEI 03 – Digital health & wellbeing — prevention, self-care, mental health; complementary to (not substituting) the public health system.
- AEI 04 – Immersive tech & videogames — VR/AR/MR, 3D engines, gamification, the "Citiverso".
- AEI 05 – Enabling tech: semiconductors, microchips, photonic & quantum computing — deep-tech for critical urban applications.
- AEI 06 – UrbanTech — smart mobility, energy, digital urban planning, new materials, real-time decision tools.
- AEI 07 – Emergency, security & defence — dual-use tech: urban resilience, civil protection, cybersecurity, early warning.
- AEI 08 – Sustainable tourism — flow monitoring, smart destination management, heritage preservation.
All projects must also respect the four transversal pillars ("innovation DNA"): Green, Inclusive, Ethical, Transparent.
Requirements & eligibility (project — RPI)
- RPI 03 – Urban Sandbox: must show the innovation can be tested in the Valencia Urban Sandbox; submit Annex V (test protocol) based on the Sandbox participation guide.
- RPI 04 – Employment: must create or maintain jobs tied to the innovation.
- RPI 05 – Viability: technically, organisationally and economically viable.
- RPI 06 – Duration: max 18 months execution — cannot be extended under any circumstance.
- RPI 07 – Territory: developed within the municipality of València (exceptions must justify municipal benefit).
- RPI 08 – Novelty: must be new; cannot have won this grant in prior editions; no trivial variants.
- Excluded: finished studies; already fully commercialised products/services; anything that can't be Sandbox-tested.
Scoring (100 pts, competitive concurrence)
| Criterion | Max |
|---|---|
| A — Innovative impact on the 8 AEIs | 40 |
| B — Additional private investment leveraged | 20 |
| C — Potential employment impact | 20 |
| D — Quality/clarity/coherence of the application | 20 |
Ties broken by criterion A, then B, C, D. A Comisión de Valoración Técnica (Head of Servicio de Innovación + ≥4 innovation experts) scores; award approved by the Junta de Gobierno Local.
How to apply (step by step)
- Where: Sede Electrónica de València → Trámites → Actividad económica, empleo y consumo → Innovación → this call (procedure AE.IN.25). 100% electronic with digital certificate/signature — paper or non-standard forms = inadmissible.
- Window: 1 calendar month from the day after the convocatoria extract is published in the
BOP (Boletín Oficial de la Província de València). (JGL initiated the 2026 procedure 10 Mar 2026;
confirm the exact BOP extract date —
#status/verify.) - Attach the mandatory documents (all cases):
- A.01 Standardised application form (VIC-Form-solicitud).
- Annex I — Project descriptive memoria (the core scoring document — VIC-Anexo1-Memoria-proyecto).
- Annex II — Innovation Canvas (VIC-Anexo2-Innovation-Canvas).
- Annex III — Declaraciones responsables + list of attached docs.
- Annex IV — Video ≤3 min, ≤300 MB, hosted at a directly downloadable link (no streaming-only).
- Annex V — Urban Sandbox test protocol (VIC-Anexo5-Sandbox-Testing-Protocol).
- Annex VI — Informed consent for AI-assisted processing of the application (pilot).
- Plus, by applicant type: individuals → Modelo 036/037 + RETA registration + last RETA receipt; companies/associations → 036/037, deed of incorporation, statutes, proof of legal representation, (last board composition for associations/foundations/NGOs); universities/institutes/public entities → registry inscription, constitution docs, statutes, board, legal-rep accreditation.
- Subsanación: after review, a 10-working-day window opens to fix missing documentation.
- Resolution: max 6 months from the close of the window; silence = rejected.
Eligible costs (justification)
- Personnel — max 30% of the grant (autónomos: min RETA base €960.78/mo in 2026, capped at 30%).
- Consumables, subcontracting (max 50%), training (with certification), the mandatory audit report, promotion/dissemination.
- ≥3 quotes required for any spend above the contrato menor threshold (€15,000 + VAT).
- Not eligible: capital investment, recoverable VAT, general/structural overheads (rent, utilities, equipment amortisation), direct taxes, financial/bank/insurance costs, anything already publicly subsidised.
- Execution period ≤18 months from payment; final justification due within 2 months of execution end, via cuenta justificativa incl. auditor's report (J.01), innovation memoria (J.03) and economic memoria (J.04).
Key facts
- €1,000,000 total · ≤€100,000/project · 18-month max execution · 75/25 payment split · no aval.
- Compatible with other public/private aid for the same object (subject to LGS limits), except other same-year Ajuntament aid for the same purpose.
- Beneficiary obligations (OEB): tax/SS up to date; keep records 4 years; publicise municipal + VIC co-funding (comms KIT provided); join the city's public-private innovation alliances; propose how the city shares in the knowledge generated.
Relations
- Run by: Valencia Innovation Capital
- Part of: VIC Startup Grants
- Requires: Valencia Urban Sandbox
- See also: La Harinera (VIC)
- See also: VLCi Open Data Valencia
- See also: Estrategia Urbana Valencia 2030
- Run by: VIC Startup Grants
- Requires: Valencia Urban Sandbox (Program)