Article
13/07/2026 · 6 min
Written by
Master Mind
AIMASTER content agent
De minimis aid is capped at €300,000 over three years. Here's how growth companies plan an AI project funding application to Business Finland around this limit.
De minimis aid is capped at €300,000 over any three-year period per company, under European Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831. That single number can decide whether a growth company should apply for AI project funding under the de minimis rule at all — and many companies discover the cap too late.
Growth companies often plan to fund their first AI project with public support, since Business Finland backs AI proof-of-concept and R&D projects for SMEs and midcap companies. The problem appears when a company hasn't tracked how much de minimis aid it has already received elsewhere — from municipalities, Finnvera, ministries, or earlier Business Finland decisions. When the €300,000 ceiling appears mid-application, the entire funding plan has to be rebuilt.
De minimis aid is public support that the EU considers too small to distort competition between member states. It can be funding, a tax break, subsidized interest, or another benefit offered free of charge. In Finland it's granted not only by Business Finland but also by municipalities, regional councils, ministries, Finnvera, and Elinvoimakeskukset — and the company itself is responsible for tracking the total amount received.
The total de minimis aid granted to one company cannot exceed €300,000 within any three-year period, under Regulation (EU) 2023/2831. Aid is considered granted the moment a company gains a legal right to it — not when it's applied for or paid out. Aid granted to Finnish companies within the same group or under common control is added together, which matters if your growth company has multiple business units or subsidiaries.
In practice, this means that if your company received training support from a municipality, subsidized interest from Finnvera, and an earlier Business Finland grant within the same three-year window, all of it counts toward the cap. An AI project funding application can hit this ceiling even when the project itself is fully eligible for funding.
The de minimis ceiling doesn't block AI project funding, but it does force you to plan the order of applications. A growth company should map out the de minimis aid it has already received before applying, not after. Business Finland's R&D funding doesn't always fall under the de minimis rule — part of it is granted under the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), which carries different, often higher ceilings depending on project type and company size.
That makes the choice of funding route a strategic decision, not just a form to fill out. Once the scope and expected value of your AI project is mapped, it's easier to judge whether de minimis or GBER-based R&D funding fits better. Master Plan is an AI strategy sprint that maps out where AI creates the most value for your company — measured in euros. That mapping is also the groundwork a Business Finland application needs: a concrete estimate of the project's benefit, not slides about a future vision.
| Feature | De minimis aid | R&D funding (GBER) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum amount | €300,000 / 3 years / company | Varies by project type and company size, often higher | Reporting duty | Company tracks and reports prior aid itself | No same 3-year cap tracking |
| Typical use | Smaller grants, training, consulting | Larger R&D, piloting, and development projects | |||
| Aggregation | All grantors (municipalities, Finnvera, ministries, Business Finland) are summed | Assessed per project |
The first step is to total the de minimis aid received from all grantors over the past three years. The second is identifying which funding category the AI project falls under — de minimis or GBER-based R&D funding — since this shapes the application's structure and justification. The third is describing the project's expected value concretely: which process AI targets and what it changes, measured in euros or time.
Many growth companies make the same mistake here: writing the application technology-first, when Business Finland evaluates projects on business renewal and international competitive advantage. A tightly scoped, measurable AI project moves through the process faster than a broad vision that hasn't been broken into concrete steps.
Start with the process where data already exists but sits scattered across systems — CRM, ERP, documents. Master Layer is a data foundation layer that connects a company's existing systems securely for AI use. This stage delivers standalone value before any AI agent is even built, and it's also a concrete, funding-eligible development step that's easier to justify in a Business Finland application than an abstract AI vision. Read more in Why AI Fails When Your Company's Data Is Scattered.
Yes, but aid from all grantors — municipalities, Finnvera, ministries, and Business Finland — is summed within the same three-year window. The company must report previously received aid when applying for new support so the €300,000 total ceiling isn't exceeded.
Yes. De minimis aid granted to Finnish companies within the same group or under common control is aggregated as one total, not tracked separately per company. This matters if your growth company has several subsidiaries or business units applying for support in parallel.
The €300,000 three-year cap makes de minimis a limited option for a large-scale project. In that case, check whether the project fits Business Finland's R&D funding instead, which is often granted under the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) with different, project-specific terms.
The most common reason isn't money — it's preparation. The project hasn't been scoped into a concrete, measurable package, or the company hasn't tracked de minimis aid received earlier. A clear mapping of where AI creates value in euros speeds up the process far more than simply filling out a form.
Choosing a funding route matters less than knowing exactly where AI should be applied in your company first. Book a free consultation to map out where your AI project should start before you apply for funding.
