NEUROPIC will design, build, measure, and explore a novel programmable photonic chip architecture with transformational impact potential on photonics for data centers, autonomous vehicles, quantum information processors, and much more. We will explore and pioneer programmability of large-scale photonic circuits using nanoelectromechanical technologies, which benefit from ultralow power consumption, compact footprint, and potentially faster operation than existing approaches. Building on very recent breakthroughs from the consortium partners, the nanotechnology is now in place to begin the exploration of programmable photonic chips scaled to thousands of programmable nodes. The main objectives range from sustainable and high-performance silicon nanomachining over establishing a scalable platform for ultralow-power nanoelectromechanical programmable silicon photonics to massively parallel optical interconnects. Our final goal is to use the network of independent and fully controllable nodes for neuromorphic computing to quantify the role of complexity for artificial intelligence. The objectives present a strong mutual synergy, scientific impact, and sustainability and set the foundations for four highly attractive business cases with complementary profiles in terms of risk and market size. NEUROPIC is therefore designed to address the fundamental scientific and technological questions of today whose answers hold potential for very large commercial impact in the future. Our quest comes with a new set of challenges and calls for a radically new approach to photonics. NEUROPIC unites some of the world’s leading researchers and companies in nanotechnology, photonics, advanced manufacturing, and complex systems in a risky and highly interdisciplinary research project with the ambition of founding a new paradigm of programmable silicon photonics.