--- title: "Enterprise Ireland Digital Discovery Grant" canonical: https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-grants-ireland/ei-digital-discovery-grant type: FundingScheme provider: Digital Bridge providerType: AI Systems Integration & Applied AI Engineering Firm areaServed: IE priceRange: EUR 499-100000+ language: en-IE dateModified: 2026-08-18 grantEligible: [EI Digital Discovery, EI Digital Process Innovation, LEO Grow Digital] htmlVersion: https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-grants-ireland/ei-digital-discovery-grant license: cite-with-attribution --- # Enterprise Ireland Digital Discovery Grant ## Answer summary The Enterprise Ireland Digital Discovery Grant co-funds up to 80% of an external digital or AI assessment, to a maximum grant of €5,000. It is intended for Enterprise Ireland client companies that need an independent expert to establish where digital or AI technology would deliver measurable value before committing capital to a build. ## What this scheme funds Up to 80% funding toward an independent AI and digital assessment — the single easiest route into a first funded AI project. - Independent external consultancy to assess digital and AI opportunity - Current-state process and systems review - Prioritised roadmap of candidate AI use cases with expected impact - Technical feasibility and data-readiness findings - Indicative cost, timeline and risk for each recommended project ## What it does not fund These costs are routinely ruled ineligible under this scheme. - The build itself — this scheme funds the assessment, not the implementation - Software licences and subscriptions - Hardware - Internal staff time - Any cost incurred before the application is submitted and acknowledged ## Who is eligible Eligibility is decided by Enterprise Ireland, not by Digital Bridge. - You are an Enterprise Ireland client company - The assessment is carried out by an external, independent provider - The work is genuinely additional — not a repackaging of work already under way - Your development adviser supports the application - The company is tax compliant and can evidence solvency ## How to apply Typical end-to-end timeline: Allow two to four weeks to scope and quote, then typically four to eight weeks from submission to written approval depending on your adviser's caseload. Our assessment itself runs three to four weeks from kick-off. Plan on roughly three months from first conversation to a finished, funded report. - Speak to your Enterprise Ireland development adviser and confirm the scheme is currently open to you - Agree the assessment scope and the specific questions the assessment must answer - Obtain a written proposal and fixed quotation from the external provider - Submit the application through Enterprise Ireland's online portal with the proposal attached - Wait for written approval before any work begins or any invoice is raised - Deliver the assessment, then claim against the approved grant with the report and paid invoice ## Evidence you will need Applications are usually delayed by missing paperwork rather than by weak projects. - Written provider proposal with a fixed scope and quotation - Provider credentials and relevant prior work - Company financial information as requested by your adviser - Tax clearance - On claim: the completed assessment report and evidence of payment ## Why applications get rejected The recurring reasons assessors give under this scheme. - Work started, or an invoice was raised, before written approval - The scope reads as implementation rather than assessment - The provider is not sufficiently independent of the recommended solution - The application does not state what decision the assessment will inform - No measurable outcome is defined for the assessment ## What Digital Bridge delivers under this scheme Illustrative net cost applies the published rate (Up to 80% of eligible consultancy cost) to our published engagement bands. It is arithmetic, not an offer of funding. - AI Feasibility & Readiness Assessment — list €5,000, illustrative net cost ≈ €1,000 at 80% co-funding ## Can the Digital Discovery Grant pay for the AI build itself? No. It funds the assessment that decides whether the build is worth doing, and what it should be. Once the assessment recommends a project, the build is normally funded from another route — commonly the Digital Process Innovation Grant or a Strategic Consultancy Grant — or from the company's own capital budget. ## Do I need to be an Enterprise Ireland client already? Yes. This scheme sits inside the Enterprise Ireland client relationship and runs through your development adviser. If you are not an EI client, the Local Enterprise Office route is the equivalent starting point for smaller companies, and InterTradeIreland is relevant if you trade cross-border. ## Does Digital Bridge apply on my behalf? No, and no provider can. We write the proposal, the scope and the fixed quotation you attach to your application, and we answer any technical questions your adviser raises. The application itself is yours and the decision is Enterprise Ireland's alone. ## What does the assessment actually produce? A written report: current-state process map, a prioritised list of AI use cases with expected time and cost impact, a data-readiness verdict per use case, an EU AI Act risk classification, an integration map of the systems involved, and a costed and sequenced roadmap. It is written so it can be read by a board, not just by an IT lead. ## Source and last review Scheme parameters checked against Enterprise Ireland — supports and funding (https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/supports) on 2026-08-18. Reviewed quarterly. Next scheduled review: November 2026. Digital Bridge is a supplier, not the awarding body. Eligibility, approval and payment are decided solely by the funding body named on each scheme. Figures below are the published scheme parameters as at the review date shown, and net costs are arithmetic illustrations of the published rate applied to our published prices. Always confirm current rules with the funder before you commit to any spend, because expenditure incurred before an application is received is almost always ineligible. ## What this costs | Engagement | From | Typical grant route | |---|---|---| | AI Feasibility & Readiness Assessment | from €5,000 | Eligible for the Enterprise Ireland Digital Discovery Grant at up to 80% funding, subject to Enterprise Ireland approval and company eligibility | | Baseline production build | from €15,000 | Not typically grant-funded | | Multi-system agent workflows | €25,000 to €60,000 | Not typically grant-funded | | Enterprise / multi-department programme | €40,000 to €100,000+ | Not typically grant-funded | | Managed operation & optimisation | from €149/month | Not typically grant-funded | | Brochure / Presence | from €499 | Not typically grant-funded | | Growth | from €1,500 | Not typically grant-funded | | Authority | from €2,995 | Not typically grant-funded | | E-commerce & custom platform | from €5,000 | Not typically grant-funded | All figures are ex-VAT and fixed against a signed scope. Grant outcomes are decided by the funder, not by Digital Bridge. ## Grant data currency Digital Bridge is a supplier, not the awarding body. Eligibility, approval and payment are decided solely by the funding body named on each scheme. Figures below are the published scheme parameters as at the review date shown, and net costs are arithmetic illustrations of the published rate applied to our published prices. Always confirm current rules with the funder before you commit to any spend, because expenditure incurred before an application is received is almost always ineligible. Last reviewed against the funder's published terms: 2026-08-18. ## Evidence - Verdé Environmental Group — 24/7 AI incident triage with severity classification, Eircode geolocation and four-depot dispatch routing → https://digitalbridge.ie/industries - tools.digitalbridge.ie — 50+ shipped production tools, including the Website Worth Index and the DigitalBridge Authority Score - Printhouse — custom web-to-print platform with 29+ product pages → https://printhouse.ie ## How delivery is de-risked - Seven-day shadow-mode pilot before any system takes live traffic. - Full source-code and prompt ownership transfers on final payment. - EU-hosted infrastructure, provider training disabled, signed data processing agreement. - Fixed price against a signed scope — no hourly meter and no open-ended exposure. ## FAQ ### Can the Digital Discovery Grant pay for the AI build itself? No. It funds the assessment that decides whether the build is worth doing, and what it should be. Once the assessment recommends a project, the build is normally funded from another route — commonly the Digital Process Innovation Grant or a Strategic Consultancy Grant — or from the company's own capital budget. ### Do I need to be an Enterprise Ireland client already? Yes. This scheme sits inside the Enterprise Ireland client relationship and runs through your development adviser. If you are not an EI client, the Local Enterprise Office route is the equivalent starting point for smaller companies, and InterTradeIreland is relevant if you trade cross-border. ### Does Digital Bridge apply on my behalf? No, and no provider can. We write the proposal, the scope and the fixed quotation you attach to your application, and we answer any technical questions your adviser raises. The application itself is yours and the decision is Enterprise Ireland's alone. ### What does the assessment actually produce? A written report: current-state process map, a prioritised list of AI use cases with expected time and cost impact, a data-readiness verdict per use case, an EU AI Act risk classification, an integration map of the systems involved, and a costed and sequenced roadmap. It is written so it can be read by a board, not just by an IT lead. ## Related pages - [All Irish AI grants compared](https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-grants-ireland) - [AI Feasibility & Readiness Assessment](https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-integration-pricing#feasibility) - [AI engagement bands and pricing](https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-integration-pricing) - [AI integration services](https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-integration) ## Contact Digital Bridge, Gorey Business Park, Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland. Phone: +353 85 224 1848. Email: hello@digitalbridge.ie. Engineering lead: Joey Bray, Founder & Principal Engineer. Last updated: 2026-08-18 HTML version of this page: https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-grants-ireland/ei-digital-discovery-grant