Cash grants & prizes for startups (2026)
Non-dilutive cash: prizes, competitions and private grants paid to founders or companies. We only list programs that take no equity and do not need to be paid back.
We track 21 programs in this category from 20 providers: 15 open now and 6 paused until their next round. 18 are open to startups worldwide and 3 are limited to specific countries or regions. The largest headline value among open programs is Starknet Growth Grants from Starknet Foundation ($25,000 – $1,000,000 in STRK). Across the 7 open programs with a stated value, the median is $150,000. Most common types: Web3 public-goods grant (3), Web3 growth grant (1), Pitch prize (1), Innovation competition (TV) (1). 20 do not require a registered company, and 12 accept students or researchers. The next dated deadline or opening is 6 November 2026 (MIT Solve Global Challenges 2027).
Guides: Non-dilutive funding for open-source projects (2026): grants and funds
All 21 programs, open first and largest first
| Program | What you get | Where | Status | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starknet Growth GrantsStarknet Foundation | $25,000 – $1,000,000 in STRK | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| Transformative AI FundEA Funds | Typically $10K–$150K; rarely above $300K | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| Thiel FellowshipThiel Foundation | $250,000 grant paid over two years | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| Stellar Community Fund — Build AwardStellar Development Foundation | Up to $150,000 in XLM across 3 award tracks | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-23 |
| Starknet Seed GrantsStarknet Foundation | Up to $25,000 in STRK | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| Superteam Instagrants (Solana)Superteam | Micro-grants of up to about $10K | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| 1517 Medici Project grants1517 Fund | Stipend grants starting at $1,000 (no equity, no IP claim) | United States, Canada, Mexico | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| Emergent VenturesMercatus Center (George Mason University) | Grants and fellowships; amounts are not published | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| Ethereum Foundation Ecosystem Support Program (ESP)Ethereum Foundation | Amount set per proposal (paid in ETH by default); $29.1M awarded across 388 projects in 2025 | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| MIT Solve Global Challenges 2027MIT Solve | $10,000 Solver Award per selected team; an average of about $40K per team after selection, from a prize pool of over $1M | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-23 |
| OpenAI Cybersecurity Grant ProgramOpenAI | API credits from a $10M commitment (Feb 2026 relaunch alongside Trusted Access for Cyber); per-project amounts not published | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| OpenSats GrantsOpenSats | General and Long-Term Support grants plus LLM-token reimbursement; amounts not published | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| Solana Foundation GrantsSolana Foundation | Milestone-based grants; amounts not published ($100M+ funded across 500+ projects) | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| Survival and Flourishing Fund (S-Process grant rounds)Survival and Flourishing Fund | 2026 Main Round expected ~$63.6M in grants, plus $20–40M estimated across theme rounds; no per-grant cap published | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-23 |
| Zcash Community GrantsZcash Community Grants | Major grants from a pool of about 100,000 ZEC (~$11M); no per-grant cap published | Worldwide | Open | 2026-10-22 |
| Africa's Business Heroes PrizeJack Ma Foundation | Share of $1.5M in grants across 10 finalists; top winner up to $300,000 | 54 countries | Paused: next round TBA | 2026-10-23 |
| Stars of ScienceQatar Foundation | Per official FAQ: $400,000 total prize fund, 1st prize $300,000, 2nd $100,000; Season 18 adds venture-building support in Qatar | Worldwide | Paused: next round TBA | 2026-10-23 |
| Cartier Women's Initiative — Regional AwardsCartier | $100,000 (1st), $60,000 (2nd), $30,000 (3rd) per region, plus coaching | Worldwide | Paused: next round TBA | 2026-10-23 |
| Echoing Green FellowshipEchoing Green | $100,000 seed funding paid as a stipend over 18 months (recoverable grant for for-profits) | Worldwide | Paused: next round TBA | 2026-10-23 |
| Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship ProgrammeTony Elumelu Foundation | $5,000 non-returnable seed capital, plus training and mentorship | 54 countries | Paused: next round TBA | 2026-10-22 |
| Cardano Project CatalystProject Catalyst (Cardano) | Fund15 budget 18.5M ADA + 250K USDM; Pilot 2026: 2.5M ADA, 50k–200k per project; per-proposal caps set per category | Worldwide | Paused: next round TBA | 2026-10-23 |
Other categories
AI credits for startups · Cloud credits for startups · GPU credits for startups · Free developer tools for startups · Data & analytics perks for startups · Security & compliance perks for startups · Business software perks for startups · Banking & payments perks for startups · Government grants for startups · Research & student founder programs · Equity-free accelerators & incubators
Program terms change often. Open a program to see its official source and verification date, and confirm on the provider's page before you apply. Spotted something out of date? Report a correction.