Prototype Fund
Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) / OKF DE · Open-source grant
$171KUp to €158,000 (~$171k) per team or ~€79,000 per individual (6-month funding phase + 4-month Second Stage), plus coaching
German federal funding for individual developers and small teams building free and open-source public-interest software, from idea to prototype and into use.
Key terms
- Applications for class 03 run 1 Oct – 30 Nov 2026, 15:00 CET; funding starts 1 June 2027
- Individuals (resident and taxed in Germany) or teams of up to four with a German GbR; companies and associations cannot apply
- All code must be published under an open-source licence
- Formal application is in German (most other steps can be in English)
- Funding lines for 2026: 'Resilienz' and 'Up and Coming' (under 26, students or IT trainees)
Eligibility
- Where
- Germany
- Stages
- idea, pre-seed
- Needs VC/accelerator backing
- No
- Needs partner referral code
- No
- Must be incorporated
- No
- AI focus required
- No
- Students / researchers
- Eligible
- Nonprofits
- Not eligible
Also required
- Software must be free/open source
- Individuals or teams of up to 4 (no companies)
How to apply
Submit your project idea on the Prototype Fund application platform before the deadline; selected projects get help preparing the formal BMFTR application.
- Benefit
- cash
- Equity-free
- Yes
- Decision time
- 2–3 months after the deadline
- Credit validity
- —
- Deadline
- 2026-11-30
- Status
- Open
Verified 2026-10-30 · source
More: Government grants for startups · Startup programs in Germany
Guide: Startup grants in Germany (2026): EXIST, state programs and EU grants compared · Non-dilutive funding for open-source projects (2026): grants and funds · Startup grants and free credits for student founders (2026)