Startup Funding in Hungary: What Can Pay for Your MVP

On 20 October 2026, the public money in Hungary that an early-stage founder can actually apply for is equity, not grants. The two live routes are the Hiventures early-stage fund under GINOP Plusz, which invests up to €300,000 per company but excludes startups that only develop software, and the DIMOP Plusz digital startup venture capital programme, which is the software route but expects technology at TRL 7 or above. We could not confirm any open Hungarian grant call that pays a startup to build an MVP: the NKFIH Startup Factory incubator call, the market-driven R&D call and the GINOP Plusz SME innovation calls we checked are all closed, and the Budapest digitalisation grant is suspended.

This page is orientation, not financial or legal advice. It goes deeper than our page on MVP development in Hungary, which covers prices, language, website rules and VAT. For other countries, start at the MVP grants and funding hub for Europe, and for EU-level programmes see EU funding for start-ups.

Scheme details checked against official sources on 20 October 2026. Schemes change; confirm with the programme before applying.

At a glance

Hiventures: the early-stage fund

Hiventures describes its mission as long-term, hands-on support for Hungarian startups and innovative businesses, from prototyping to market validation. Its new fund is "mainly generalist" but focuses on AI, deep tech, medtech and greentech.

What it offers. In its press release of 18 February 2026, Hiventures announced a venture capital fund of about HUF 17 billion, funded from EU sources under GINOP Plusz, for early-stage Hungarian startups with a technological or business innovation. It says investments can reach up to €300,000 per company at pre-seed and seed stage, that it plans to invest mainly alongside other investors, and that startups can receive investment in as little as three months. In a separate article, its CEO explains that when Hiventures invests alone it takes a minimal stake of about 1% and provides most of the capital as a convertible shareholder loan; when a startup already has an investor, Hiventures joins on the terms agreed with that investor.

The rules behind it. Hiventures lists the GINOP Plusz-2.5.1-25 early-stage R&D venture capital programme among its product descriptions. That document sets out:

• Who qualifies: unlisted SMEs with high growth potential that do, or commit to, research, development or innovation, fit the national S3 smart specialisation strategy, and mainly work on innovation and market launch above TRL 6.
• The exclusion that matters most here: "Jelen tőkeprogram esetében nem támogathatóak olyan startup vállalkozások, amelyek kizárólag immateriális eszközt (pl. szoftvert) fejlesztenek." In English: startups that develop only intangible assets, such as software, are not eligible. A footnote says purely software-focused investments are possible under the DIMOP Plusz capital programme, covered below.
• Amount: at least HUF 40 million, with gross aid content of at most €300,000 over any three years under the de minimis rules.
• Where the money is used: the programme has a Budapest component and a component for the less developed regions. For the Budapest component, the funded project must be carried out in Budapest at the company's seat, site or branch, and the money cannot be passed on to foreign subsidiaries.
• Timing: investment decisions until 31 December 2029. The national portal lists the programme as active.

How to apply. The press release sends founders to hiventures.hu/befektetes. When we checked on 20 October 2026, that address redirected to a job advert and the site's application link returned "page not found", so we could not confirm the current application route. Ask Hiventures directly at the address on its contact page.

DIMOP Plusz-5.1.4-26: the digital startup venture capital programme

This is the software route that the Hiventures document points to. The call sets up a HUF 16.7 billion programme, with two funds for the less developed regions and one for Budapest.

• Who qualifies: unlisted ICT SMEs at seed or start-up stage that do R&D or innovation. The company must be classified under software publishing, IT services, data processing and hosting, or telecoms (TEÁOR'25 58.2, 62, 63.1 or 61), and at least 50% of its revenue must come from those activities, either in the last closed year or in its business plan for the next three years.
• What it funds: only investments at TRL 7 or above that build new solutions on named critical digital technologies, among them AI, big data, IoT and future networks, immersive technologies, Web3, quantum, next-generation cloud and edge, and next-generation software development technologies. Projects with an angel investor or mentor are given preference.
• Amount: HUF 50 million to 900 million, in one or more rounds.
• Private money: each investment must bring in independent private investors: at least 10% of the financing for companies not yet on any market, and 40% for companies within ten years of registration or seven years of first sale.
• Where the money is used: in Hungary at the company's seat, site or branch; for the Budapest fund, in Budapest.
• Status: the national portal lists the call as active from 30 March 2026 until the end of 2029. The call says the selection of companies starts once the fund managers have been chosen through public procurement. We could not find an official page naming the selected fund managers, so ask the portal's customer service who to approach.

A typical MVP budget is far below the HUF 50 million minimum. This programme fits a company that already has a working product at TRL 7 or above and is raising a real round.

NKFIH Startup Factory: incubator-based grants

The Startup Factory model does not let a startup apply to NKFIH directly. NKFIH funds technology incubators, and each incubator runs its own call (a Címzetti Felhívás) and passes the grant on to the startups it selects.

Status. The 2023-1.1.3-STARTUP call was for incubators, and applications closed on 6 November 2023. NKFIH decided on 7 December 2023 to fund 11 incubators with HUF 5.2 billion, and later one more with HUF 500 million. The incubators listed include, in Budapest, Lunar Program, White Unicorn, Nesprit Ventures, Virgo Ventures, STRT Invest and OXO Labs. Incubator projects run 24 to 30 months (36 to 42 for some categories), and the call requires each incubator to place all the funds no later than six months before its project ends. We found no newer Startup Factory call on the NKFIH site, so whether any incubator still has money to place is a question for the incubator.

Who qualifies. Under the call, the startup must have legal personality, be registered for at most five years, employ at most 20 people on average, be seated in Hungary or in the EEA with a Hungarian branch, keep double-entry books, be unlisted, not have distributed profit, and have an innovative main activity in the Oslo Manual sense.

What it pays for. The incubator handbook names "MVP és prototípusfejlesztés, technológiai és piaci validáció" (MVP and prototype development, technical and market validation) as a supported task, with "52. Igénybe vett szolgáltatások" (services used, that is, bought-in services) among its eligible costs, alongside staff costs and materials. Aid intensity for the startup support is at most 80%, and the incubator must add private capital of at least 25% of the grant passed on (20% for new incubators). The FAQ says there is no cap on how much can go into one startup.

Other calls we checked

• Market-driven R&D (Piacvezérelt KFI). The most recent call on the national portal is 2021-1.1.3-PIACI-KFI, and it is closed. We found no current call on the NKFIH list of current calls.
• GINOP Plusz SME innovation grants. GINOP Plusz-2.1.4-25 (SME innovations to market, HUF 100 million to 600 million) and GINOP Plusz-2.1.1-24 (focus-area innovation projects) both closed on 28 May 2026, according to the NKFIH archive. The national portal also lists GINOP Plusz-2.1.3-24 as closed.
• DIMOP Plusz digitalisation grants. The Budapest round, DIMOP Plusz-1.2.6/C-26, and the round for the regions, 1.2.6/B-26, are both shown as suspended. Both fund micro and small firms adopting market-available digital solutions, not building a new product.
• Bay KFI voucher. Open until 2 December 2026, unless suspended earlier: the call says applications are suspended if requests exceed three times the HUF 1.5 billion budget. It gives SMEs a non-financial voucher worth HUF 50 million to 100 million, at 75% aid intensity, to use the Bay research centre's own staff and equipment for product, prototype or technology development.
• Also open, but not for an MVP build: the GINOP Plusz-2.5.2-26 deep tech venture capital programme invests HUF 200 million to 2 billion; the DIMOP Plusz-1.2.3 loans finance SMEs adopting digital solutions; and the NKFIH 2025-1.1.1-IPARJOG call pays for protecting intellectual property, not for development.

Can this money pay an outside development team, or one in another country?

This is the question most Hungarian guides skip. Here is what the official rules say, scheme by scheme.

Hiventures (GINOP Plusz-2.5.1-25). The programme description says the money may only finance costs that are eligible under the national eligibility guide, the Elszámolási útmutató for 2021 to 2027. It excludes purchases from the company's own owners, executives, their relatives and related or partner companies. It also states that de minimis aid cannot be granted if it is made conditional on using domestic services instead of imported ones. It does not mention where a supplier may be based. What it does require is that the project is carried out in Budapest (or in the regions, for the other component) at your seat, site or branch. Whether a build contracted to a supplier abroad meets that requirement, the official guidance does not say; ask Hiventures before you commit.

DIMOP Plusz-5.1.4-26. The call has the same structure: only costs eligible under the eligibility guide, a ban on purchases from related parties, and money used in Hungary at your seat, site or branch. On supplier location, the official guidance does not say; ask the fund manager, or the portal's customer service until one is named.

The eligibility guide itself. The Elszámolási útmutató 2021 to 2027 (the version we could open is 5.0, September 2024) says the cost of services ordered from a third party and directly linked to the supported activity can be claimed (chapter I, point 3.4.1). Its invoice checklist in chapter II also covers foreign invoices: the beneficiary attaches a signed Hungarian translation of the invoice's main details (point 2.10.2), a Hungarian translation of the contract documents must be available for a foreign or foreign-currency invoice (point 2.2.2), and foreign-currency invoices are converted at the MNB rate on the performance date (point 2.11.1). We found no rule in it that excludes a non-EU supplier. The call's own rules still come first.

Startup Factory. Bought-in services are an eligible cost for MVP and prototype development. The NKFI general applicant guide attached to the call says purchases must be at market prices between independent parties, and that every bought-in service needs a quote. It expects some quotes to come from abroad: a quote not in forints is converted at the MNB rate, and a quote not in Hungarian needs a Hungarian translation, which need not be official. The guide also excludes, among market-access costs, "termékoldal webfejlesztése", web development of a product page. It says nothing about supplier location. Ask the incubator and NKFIH (nkfialap@nkfih.gov.hu, +36 1 795 9500) before you commit; each incubator's own call can add conditions.

Bay KFI voucher. No. The voucher buys the Bay research centre's own services, so no outside team, Hungarian or foreign, is paid with it.

Easify is based in Budapest, but our invoices come in euros from our registered entity in India. For Hungarian programmes, that means a foreign, foreign-currency invoice from outside the EU, needing translations and an MNB conversion at the very least. More importantly, programmes that require the money to be used in Hungary at your own site may not accept a build contracted abroad, and the rules do not settle it either way. Get the programme's answer in writing before you count our invoices as eligible costs. If the answer is no, a Hungarian or EU supplier is the safer choice for that budget line.

How to plan your MVP budget around it

1. Do not spend before the money is agreed. The eligibility guide says invoices and performance dates may not be earlier than the implementation start in the support contract (chapter II, point 2.3.1). The GINOP Plusz-2.5.1-25 description excludes financing an investment already physically completed or fully implemented on the date of the investment decision. Sign the development contract after the decision, or be ready to pay for that work yourself.
2. Match the scheme to your stage. Hiventures and DIMOP Plusz invest in companies, not in a document. Their minimums, HUF 40 million and HUF 50 million, are far above a typical MVP. Many founders fund the first build from savings, angels or an accelerator and approach these funds with the MVP live.
3. Prepare a quote that survives scrutiny. The NKFI guide asks for a quote under 90 days old with the detailed tasks, the deliverables handed over, and the effort per task and per person. A written scope lets two suppliers quote the same thing.
4. Write the scope down. Our MVP Scoping Sprint, €900 and about two weeks, produces a written scope and a fixed price for the build, credited in full against the build if you build with us. As general advice, a document like that helps with any application or investor that asks for a project plan or quotes; no Hungarian programme requires or endorses ours specifically.
5. Budget for currency and translation. Our prices are in euros; a company keeping its books in forints carries the exchange-rate movement, and a foreign invoice under these rules needs Hungarian translations.

Where Easify fits, and where it may not

We typically build MVPs for €5,000 to €25,000 over four to twelve weeks. The people you talk to are in Budapest and work in English or Hungarian; engineering is in India, and invoices come in euros from our registered entity in India. We deploy client products to EU data-centre regions, but that does not mean data never leaves the EU, since our engineers work from India.

That makes us a sensible fit when the first build is paid from your own money, an angel or an accelerator, or from a programme that has confirmed in writing that it accepts a supplier like us. It makes us a poor fit where a programme expects the work done at your Hungarian site, or where you need a Hungarian or EU supplier to be safe. We do not write funding applications.

Already have a prototype? The €99 Prototype Check gives you a short written read on its top risks. For price benchmarks, see how much an MVP costs in Europe, and for comparing suppliers, how to choose an MVP development agency. Founding in a neighbouring country instead? See start-up funding in Austria, start-up funding in Poland or start-up grants in Germany.

If you know which route you are taking, send us what you want to test, who it is for and when the money lands, or book the Scoping Sprint, and we reply within one business day.