We regularly receive questions from IT companies, such as application, platform, game, and AI developers, asking whether they qualify for the WBSO. And that is usually the case if you have technical staff on your payroll.
More than a quarter of the WBSO applications awarded by RVO are attributable to AI, IT, and software development. This makes IT the largest technology area in terms of WBSO utilization. Vectrix is the expert on WBSO ICT applications!
Questions? Feel free to contact us!To be eligible for the WBSO, you must have technical staff (programmers) on your payroll who write software in a 'formal programming language'.
Software development must involve technical bottlenecks for which the applicant seeks and develops a solution. These bottlenecks must lie within the software itself. You want to achieve something, but how do you express that in a formal programming language?
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and blockchain are hot topics. Much of the innovation in IT is taking place in these fields. However, R&D in this area is only eligible for the WBSO to the extent that the applicant develops software themselves and anticipates bottlenecks when writing that code.
There are many tools and frameworks available, often open source, for development in the fields of AI, ML, or blockchain. Implementing and configuring such software does not qualify for WBSO. Training neural networks is also excluded. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) is currently investigating how the scheme can be expanded so that more AI developments can fall within the WBSO.
The applicant himself must resolve bottlenecks in the software he is to write. For example, regarding the automatic selection of training data. Or when coding the algorithms to be applied. Or regarding performance problems. Data filtering.
In all cases, there must be programming bottlenecks that cannot be resolved with standard solutions. And this therefore concerns only the software to be developed in-house—that which you add to existing technology.
Vectrix is naturally happy to support you with your WBSO application and finding the right wording for your application. Vectrix has over 28 years of experience successfully applying for subsidies. Email us to discuss the possibilities or come to our workshop.