What innovation measures support SMEs and startups?

What is Chapter VI for?

Chapter VI is headed measures in support of innovation, and it contains the sandbox, real world testing, SME support and derogation provisions. Its purpose is to support innovation, with a particular focus on SMEs including startups and, as amended, on SMCs, by providing supervised testing environments, support measures, proportionate treatment and simplified arrangements where the Act allows them, without reducing the level of protection for health, safety and fundamental rights. The Chapter does not create a separate innovation category of AI systems, and it does not create a general exemption for innovative systems. A system that is innovative, novel or experimental is still subject to the prohibition, classification, transparency and, where applicable, high risk duties that apply to its category, and innovation is not a defence to a prohibition or a high risk duty. The Chapter should be read as a set of support and proportionality tools that operate within the substantive framework, not as an alternative framework. A provider that presents its system as innovative, in order to avoid a duty, will be assessed on the substantive category, not on the innovation label. The record should state the Chapter VI measure relied on, the provision, and the substantive duties that remain, so that the support and the duties are both visible.

What does Article 62 require in detail?

Article 62 is dealt with in detail in the SME cluster, and this guide summarises it for the innovation cluster. Member States must provide priority sandbox access, tailored awareness and training, dedicated communication channels, and facilitated standardisation participation for SMEs including startups, and must take account of SME interests when setting conformity assessment fees, reducing them proportionately. The AI Office must provide standardised templates, a single information platform, awareness campaigns, and evaluation and promotion of best practice in public procurement. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 extends defined Article 62 measures to SMCs. The detail, availability and contact points for those measures vary by Member State and by AI Office work programme, and must be checked with the national competent authority and the AI Office platform on the date the support is needed. A small firm should identify the measures that apply to it, the eligibility criteria, and the application route, and should record the support received, with dates and contacts. Support that is not recorded will be difficult to show to a customer, an investor or an authority, and support that is assumed to be available without checking will lead to planning errors.

For the broader regulatory framework, see codes, standards and sandboxes overview.

What derogations does Article 63 allow?

Article 63 provides for derogations for specific operators, in defined circumstances, subject to conditions. It allows microenterprises to comply with quality management requirements in a simplified manner, as dealt with in the SME cluster, and it provides for derogations from conformity assessment procedures in defined cases, including where a market surveillance authority authorises placing on the market or putting into service for exceptional reasons of public security, protection of life and health, environmental protection, or protection of key industrial and infrastructure assets, subject to the conditions in the Article. Derogations of that kind are exceptional, time limited, and subject to authority authorisation and to Commission and Board information duties. They are not a general route to market for a system that has not completed conformity assessment, and they should not be planned as the normal route. A provider that considers a derogation should check the full Article 63 text, the conditions, the authority, the duration and the reporting duties, and should obtain legal advice before relying on it. The derogation record should state the exceptional reason, the authority authorisation, the duration, the conditions and the action taken at the end of the derogation period. A system placed under a derogation remains subject to the conditions of the derogation, and the provider must plan for the end of the period.

How do templates and the information platform help?

Standardised templates and a single information platform, under Article 62(3), help smaller firms by providing a common starting point for documentation, information and compliance work, and by providing easy to use information for all operators across the Union. Templates can cover technical documentation, information to downstream providers, post market monitoring plans, and other areas specified by the Board. The platform can provide guidance, frequently asked questions, contact points and links to standards, codes and sandbox information. A small firm should use the templates and the platform as a starting point, adapt them to its system, and record the version used. A template that is submitted without adaptation, with generic text or uncompleted sections, does not show compliance. A platform page that is read without checking the legal text, the standard or the guidance it links to, does not show that the duty has been understood. The templates and platform should be used alongside the consolidated Regulation, the standards and the authority guidance, not instead of them. The version and date of each template and platform page used should be recorded in the file, because templates and platform content are updated.

How should innovation support be planned?

Innovation support should be planned as part of the product plan, not as an afterthought. The plan should identify the support measures that are relevant, the eligibility criteria, the application timetable, the evidence required, and the person responsible for the application. It should include the sandbox or real world testing plan where testing is needed, the standardisation participation where relevant, the template and platform use, and the external advice where borderline questions arise. It should allow time for authority questions, for plan changes, and for exit or approval processes, and should not assume that support will be granted quickly or without conditions. It should also plan for the end of support: the exit report, the conformity assessment, the placing on the market, and the post market monitoring that follow a sandbox or a test. A plan that includes only the support application, without the conformity and market stages, will leave the team unprepared for the work that follows. The plan should be reviewed when the support position changes, when the law or a standard changes, or when the system changes, with the review recorded.

Continue with regulatory sandboxes.

What does this guide not promise?

This guide does not promise sandbox access, a derogation, a fee reduction, a template or any other support for any named company, and it does not state the availability or detail of any Member State or AI Office measure. Each measure has its own conditions, eligibility criteria and timetable, and must be checked with the authority concerned on the date it is needed. Innovation measures support compliance, they do not remove substantive duties, and a company that treats support as an exemption will misunderstand the Chapter. This guide explains the Chapter VI framework, not the support available to a particular company on a particular date.

Frequently asked questions

Continue through this AI Act cluster

• codes, standards and sandboxes overview
• regulatory sandboxes
• real world testing
• simplified quality management for microenterprises
• proportionate duties and support
• small mid-caps