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AI Consulting · Funding for Businesses

Introduce AI in your business and clarify funding first.

In 2026, the open funding pots for AI projects sit mainly with the German states. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern pays 50 percent up to €50,000 for AI adoption, and Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen each have their own programs. We check with you which one fits your location, company size and project, before you spend time on an application.

Free Initial ConsultationGo to the Funding Check
The Problem

Everyone talks about AI funding, but half the programs are dead.

Anyone searching for AI grants finds blog posts about programs that expired long ago. And anyone who does find an open program often trips over the details: wrong company size, wrong state, application filed too late.

  • 01go-digital, Digital Jetzt and go-inno have expired, yet websites keep advertising them as active funding.
  • 02Every open program has its own hurdles: headcount limits, minimum volumes, regional rates, approved-advisor requirements.
  • 03The application must go out before any contract is signed. Anyone who commissions work first and applies afterward loses the grant entirely.
  • 04Between strategy consulting, coaching and implementation, every fund supports something different: the wrong project in the wrong program gets rejected.
Use Cases
01

These funding routes are open in 2026.

First the state programs, because they apply with NordFlux or need checking in the initial consultation. BAFA and INQA are listed at the end for context. As of October 2026, no guarantee for accuracy; the awarding bodies have the final say.

01

KI-Förderung MV: 50% for AI adoption

Since 30 June 2026, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has funded hardware and software for AI adoption at SMEs with up to 100 employees, covering 50 percent of eligible expenses up to a maximum of €50,000. Consulting and training multipliers only count as an accompanying service. Below €15,000 in expenses there is no funding at all, and above 50 employees the cap drops to €20,000. We can act as the implementation partner for such a project.

Grant up to €50,000 per project
02

Bildungsscheck MV: Training for your team

For employee training courses, GSA Schwerin covers 50 percent of the costs, up to €3,000 per voucher and from €300 in expenses. Product-specific training is excluded, and the administrative regulation expires on 31 December 2026. We check with you in the initial consultation whether AI training with us qualifies.

Grant up to €3,000 per voucher
03

Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen: their own state funds

Under the Hamburg Digital Check, the IFB covers 50 percent of consulting costs up to €7,500, with applications open until 16 November 2026. In Schleswig-Holstein, businesses with fewer than 50 jobs can get up to 40 percent. Bremen pays up to €17,000 for digitalization and AI, though an initial consultation with the state's digital advisors is mandatory beforehand. We check case by case whether we qualify as a service provider there.

Grant varies by state
04

Mittelstand-Digital Zentren: free orientation

If you're still right at the start, the federal government's Mittelstand-Digital Zentren offer free orientation and access to AI trainers. This is not a grant. We still recommend this route if too much is still unclear for a paid project.

Cost free
05

Good to know: BAFA and INQA

The BAFA funding scheme for business consultancy subsidizes conceptual consulting, at 80 percent in the new federal states and 50 percent elsewhere; the guideline expires on 31 December 2026. Our BAFA listing is in progress, so we cannot currently offer BAFA-funded consulting. INQA coaching runs only through authorized INQA coaches, and we are not an authorized INQA coach.

Note not currently usable with NordFlux
Solution Paths

What comes after the funding check.

A strategy that ends up in a drawer isn't a strategy. We consult so that a workable first use case comes out at the end, and we build it ourselves on request.

AI Consulting
Readiness and Strategy

A status check, data situation, governance, and the most sensible first use case, honest even when the answer is: not yet. Under KI-Förderung MV, this kind of consulting only counts as an accompanying service to a project that includes software.

View AI Consulting
AI Agents
From concept to digital employee

After the strategy comes the first AI agent: a clearly defined use case, live in 30 days, at a fixed price. You keep control over every step.

View AI Agents
Knowledge Assistant
AI on your own data

An internal knowledge assistant answers questions from your documents, GDPR-compliant and on German servers if you wish. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern it can be part of a project under KI-Förderung MV.

View Knowledge Assistant
How We Work

How you get to a subsidized AI project.

At a fixed price instead of an open timesheet. The funding application comes first, before any signature.

1

Funding Check and initial consultation

In the Funding Check, six questions show you which programs apply. In the free initial consultation, we clarify your project, location and company size in 30 minutes and name the deadline and application route.

2

Fixed-price quote as application basis

You get a clearly described consulting or implementation offer with a fixed price, worded so it works as supporting documentation for the application.

3

Application before project start

Your company files the application with the responsible body, for example via the MV-Serviceportal (approval by TBI), with GSA, or with IFB Hamburg. The order is only placed after the application is filed, or after approval, so the entitlement remains intact.

4

Implementation and proof of use

We build the first use case in 30 days and train your team. Documentation is generated along the way so that the proof-of-use report doesn't turn into a second project.

Six questions, an instant result

See first which programs apply.

The Funding Check asks for your location, company size and project, and immediately shows which programs apply, each with a link to the awarding body. No sign-up needed, and the result is not a funding commitment.

Go to the Funding Check
Free Initial Consultation

Which funding fits your AI project?

In the free initial consultation, we clarify in 30 minutes which program realistically applies and what the first step costs. No obligation, and if no program fits, we'll tell you that.

Book an appointmentkontakt@nordflux.de
  • An honest answer, even if no program fits
  • Direct access to the founder, no account-manager layer
  • Fixed price and German data sovereignty
Frequently Asked Questions
05

What businesses often ask about AI funding.

Which funding can I use with NordFlux today?

With NordFlux, the main option today is AI funding MV: a 50 percent grant of up to €50,000 for an AI project with a software component, in a business with up to 100 employees in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The application must be submitted before the start. We will review the Bildungsscheck MV for training with you in the initial consultation. For the programs in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen, we will clarify on a case-by-case basis whether we are eligible as a service provider. Our BAFA listing is in preparation, so we cannot currently offer subsidized BAFA consulting. We are not an authorized INQA coach.

Is AI consulting funded by the state?

Partially, and rarely as pure consulting. AI funding MV counts consulting only as a supporting service to a project involving hardware or software, while Hamburg Digital Check subsidizes consulting with an implementation concept at 50 percent, up to €7,500. Until December 31, 2026, there is also BAFA funding for management consulting through listed consulting companies. Our BAFA listing is in preparation, so we cannot currently offer subsidized BAFA consulting.

Are go-digital or Digital Jetzt still available?

No. go-digital expired on December 31, 2024, Digital Jetzt and go-inno have also ended, and the Digitalbonus Niedersachsen ended on December 31, 2025. Many articles online still promote these programs. Please rely on the information from the approval bodies themselves, that is, BAFA, KfW and the state development banks, or ask us in the Förder-Check.

What requirements must my business meet?

Most programs are aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises as defined by the EU, meaning fewer than 250 employees and turnover of no more than €50 million or a balance sheet total of no more than €43 million. In addition, each program has its own limits, such as up to 100 employees and at least €15,000 in expenses for AI funding MV, or fewer than 50 jobs for the DKU program in Schleswig-Holstein. It is also always decisive that the application is submitted before the project begins.

Does the consulting have to be provided by an approved consultant?

For BAFA, yes: the consulting company must be registered there. Our BAFA listing is in preparation, so we cannot currently offer subsidized BAFA consulting. For INQA coaching, only authorized INQA coaches may provide consulting, and we are not an authorized INQA coach. For AI funding MV, your business submits the application itself and no consultant listing is required there, and we are an option as an implementation partner.

Is implementation funded too, or only consulting?

That depends on the program. AI funding MV funds the introduction itself, meaning hardware and software, with consulting and training of multipliers only as a supporting service. The Bremen grant Digitaler Mittelstand AI and the Umsetzung module of the DKU program in Schleswig-Holstein also target implementation. Hamburg Digital Check, by contrast, only subsidizes consulting with an implementation concept.

Where does the funding information on this page come from?

The funding figures come from the approval bodies and program pages, last checked on September 27, 2026. AI funding MV: https://www.tbi-mv.de/informationen.html, https://www.ihk.de/schwerin/existenzgruendung/foerderung-und-finanzierung/finanzierungshilfen-und-foerdermittel/ki-foerderrichtlinie-mv-7111556 and https://www.mv-serviceportal.de/leistung?leistungId=149310496. Bildungsscheck MV: https://www.gsa-schwerin.de/foerderung/bildungsschecks-fuer-unternehmen. Hamburg Digital Check: https://www.foerderdatenbank.de/FDB/Content/DE/Foerderprogramm/Land/Hamburg/hamburg-digital-check.html. DKU Schleswig-Holstein: https://wtsh.de/de/foerderung-niedrigschwelliger-innovativer-digitalisierungsmassnahmen-in-kleinen-unternehmen. Digitaler Mittelstand AI Bremen: https://www.bab-bremen.de/de/page/programm/digitaler-mittelstand. BAFA: https://www.bafa.de/DE/Wirtschaft/Beratung_Finanzierung/Unternehmensberatung/unternehmensberatung_node.html. INQA-Coaching: https://www.esf.de/portal/DE/ESF-Plus-2021-2027/Foerderprogramme/bmas/inqa-coaching.html. The information from the approval bodies is always authoritative. Nothing on this page constitutes a funding commitment.