Government R&D funding
A checked list of government R&D funding for AI and tech builders, with the eligibility gates spelled out: what it costs you, who can apply, and from where.
24 programmes
NLnet's general-purpose open internet fund, EUR 5,000 to 50,000 per project; its thirteenth and final call closed June 1st 2026 and the successor open call is stated to reopen after the summer.
EUR 5,000 to 50,000 from a EUR 450,000 call for work on a self-hostable federated hosting stack, running to November 2027.
EUR 5,000 to 50,000 for work on privacy-preserving digital payment technology in and around GNU Taler, on recurring calls running through August 2027.
Late-stage NIH funding of up to $4,191,495 over up to 3 years, available only to small businesses that already hold an NIH SBIR/STTR Phase II or Phase IIB award.
NIH development award with a $2,153,927 budget guideline over 1 to 3 years, continuing R&D started under Phase I.
Prototype development contract of up to $2.1 million over up to 24 months, requiring a Department of the Air Force technical point of contact and end user.
Combined Phase I and Phase II NSF award of up to $1,555,555, requiring a Project Pitch invitation and a heavier PI time commitment than the standard Phase I route.
Follow-on NSF award of up to $1,250,000 over a typical 24 months, open only to companies that already hold an NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I award.
NIH feasibility award with a $323,090 budget guideline over 6 months to 2 years, for U.S. small business concerns working on biomedical and health technologies.
Feasibility study contract of up to $323,000 over up to six months, awarded to U.S. small businesses against published Department of the Air Force topics.
Non-dilutive NSF R&D grant of up to $305,000 for a 6-18 month feasibility project, open only to U.S. small businesses that first pass NSF's Project Pitch screen.
Up to Rs 50 lakh grant-in-aid over 18 months for an Indian biotech company or LLP to take an idea to proof of concept, released in three to four milestone instalments.
Innovate UK's open-topic grant for UK-registered companies with a genuinely new product, service or process; paused since January 2025 with no round announced for 2025/26.
Growth-stage bridge of $3-15 million in SBIR/STTR funding for current or recent Phase II awardees, conditional on matching $30 million or more in government and private investment.
EUR 1-10 million of direct equity or quasi-equity with no grant, for companies scaling rapidly; the only EIC Accelerator route open to small mid-caps of up to 499 employees.
Grant component below EUR 2.5 million combined with EUR 1-10 million of direct equity or quasi-equity from the EIC Fund; not open to UK applicants.
Grants of up to EUR 4 million against pre-defined EIC Challenge topics; unlike Pathfinder Open, single applicants are permitted.
Grants of up to EUR 4 million for early-stage, high-risk technology research, requiring a consortium of at least three independent legal entities; the 2026 round has closed.
Grants of up to EUR 2.5 million to validate technology and build business readiness, open only to projects building on results from an eligible prior EU-funded project.
Lump sum grant below EUR 2.5 million for a single startup or SME to complete TRL 6-8 innovation activities within 24 months, with no equity taken.
Tactical funding increase of $375,000-$1.7 million for current or recent Phase II awardees with shorter transition timelines, requiring 1:1 or 4:1 cost sharing.
Collaborative projects of £500,000 to £750,000 total eligible costs over 6 to 12 months to build frontier AI benchmarking datasets; the 2026 round has closed.
SME-led frontier AI projects of £150,000 to £250,000 total eligible costs over 3 to 6 months; the Phase 1 round has closed.
Short discovery projects of £25,000 to £50,000 total eligible costs to advance frontier AI, machine learning and foundation models in the UK; the 2026 round has closed.