Funding for digitalisation and AI in 2026: the guide for small firms, SMEs and local authorities
In 2026, a significant share of an AI investment can be co-funded by French public schemes. The difficulty is finding your way: the landscape is split between the State, Bpifrance, the regions, the sector training funds and Europe.
Illustrative photograph — Mikhail Nilov / Pexels. The people photographed have no connection with the schemes mentioned.
Five families of schemes
Good news for companies and local authorities still hesitating over AI: in 2026, a significant share of the investment can be co-funded by public schemes. The difficulty is finding your way — the landscape is split between the State, Bpifrance, the regions, the sector training funds and Europe, and much of what circulates online is out of date.
Here is the up-to-date map, in five families.
1. The France 2030 AI schemes (the « Osez l'IA » plan)
Launched on 1 July 2025, the « Osez l'IA » plan aims for 50% of very small firms, 80% of SMEs and mid-caps and 100% of large companies using AI by 2030. Its main instrument for SMEs is the IA Booster France 2030 programme, run by Bpifrance — a free self-assessment, online training, a co-funded Diag Data IA and AI Accelerators. Full detail in our dedicated article.
2. Regional digitalisation funding
Each region keeps its own "digital vouchers" or digital transformation grants, from a few hundred to several thousand euros. Some have recently closed, others remain open: our region-by-region tour is here.
3. Funded training
Bringing your teams up to speed on AI can be paid for by your sector training fund, and the first level of the IA Booster programme is free. See what the training funds pay for.
4. Local authorities: DETR, DSIL, ERDF
Municipalities and their groupings can fund up to 80% of a digital investment project through State grants (DETR — rural territories equipment grant, DSIL — local investment support grant) and European funds. How it works: funding a municipal digital project.
5. The European level
The European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) and the ERDF offer subsidised support and co-funding. See European funding.
The traps to avoid
Three "schemes" still widely quoted online no longer exist: the national €500 France Num voucher (closed in July 2021), the Île-de-France digital voucher (closed on 24 October 2025) and the 40% digital super-deduction (a 2019-2020 scheme reserved for industrial SMEs).
Never build a funding plan on a blog post: check on francenum.gouv.fr (the official funding search engine), on aides-territoires.beta.gouv.fr (local authorities) or with your chamber of commerce or chamber of trades.
Where Blue Lemon Agent fits in
Our AI agent projects — designed, installed, hosted in France and supervised — typically fall within the eligible spend of digital transformation and AI adoption schemes (subject to each scheme's own criteria). During the free audit we identify with you what you can draw on, and the savings simulator gives a first estimate of the return.
Official sources: francenum.gouv.fr · entreprises.gouv.fr · bpifrance.fr · aides-territoires.beta.gouv.fr
Editorial responsibility. This article is reviewed and approved before publication by the publication director, Ronan Le Boulaire, who bears editorial responsibility for it (see the legal notice). Writing-assistance tools may be used beforehand; no text is published without that human review.
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