Portuguese artificial intelligence startup Granter founded by Bernardo Seixas and Bernardo Tavares has secured €1.6 million in fresh funding to expand its AI-powered grant application platform into Spain, Germany and Italy.
The investment brings the company’s total funding to €2 million and supports plans to more than double its workforce by the end of 2026.
3XP Global led the funding round through its Impact Innovation Fund, which operates under the Venture Capital Programme of Portugal’s Capitalisation and Resilience Fund (FdCR), managed by state development bank Banco Português de Fomento.
Other participants included Celtis Venture Partners, Gateway Ventures, which has backing from Austrian and German investors, and US-based human resources technology company Deel.
Granter develops AI software designed to help startups and small and medium-sized enterprises navigate European public funding programmes. Its platform identifies relevant grant opportunities, assists with application preparation and supports project management after funding approval.
This is a solution to a problem that is common for small companies who do not have sufficient manpower or expertise to be able to go through the complicated process of making an application for funding.
To simplify the process, Granter recently relaunched its AI Grant Consultant with a conversational interface that allows businesses to interact directly with an AI agent. The updated system supports funding searches, application preparation and the management of approved projects.
Granter has also introduced a free trial, allowing potential customers to begin preparing applications without an upfront paid commitment.
The startup claims its technology can reduce certain administrative tasks from several weeks to less than an hour, although the reported time savings are based on the company’s own assessment.
Granter’s growth is a result of the win in the PITCH competition for startups at Web Summit in November 2025. Since then, the company has assisted over 140 companies in preparing applications for over €30 million of public financing.
Its reported customer base includes ANA Airports, MC Sonae, energy company Galp, the Portuguese Navy and insurance group Fidelidade.
Bernardo Seixas, Granter’s CEO and co-founder, said complicated application procedures prevent many businesses from accessing funding despite having worthwhile projects.
“Today, thousands of companies with solid projects are left out of public funding, not for lack of merit, but because they do not have the time, the team or the knowledge to deal with complex, bureaucratic processes,” Seixas said.
He added that Granter aims to make public funding more accessible by reducing those administrative barriers through technology.
Although Portugal remains its largest market, Granter is preparing to strengthen its commercial presence in Spain, Germany and Italy, where it already has investor connections and initial business relationships.
The company also intends to enter the United States over the medium term.
Alongside international expansion, the new capital will support further AI product development and recruitment. Granter expects its workforce to more than double before the end of 2026 as it builds the capacity to serve businesses outside its home market.
The next phase will focus on extending the reach of its AI Grant Consultant, which remains central to the startup’s efforts to make public funding applications less resource-intensive for smaller companies.
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