AI Grants for Startups

The Alibaba Cloud AI Catalyst Program supports AI-focused startups and global AI firms with comprehensive resources including up to $120,000 in lifetime cloud credits, 2 billion free Model Studio tokens for access to Alibaba's generative AI platform, 1:1 Office Hours with AI experts covering products, solutions, and infrastructure, POC coupons, and invitations to Alibaba Cloud events worldwide. The program is designed to help AI startups accelerate their growth with technical, educational, and networking resources. Applications are reviewed within 4-5 business days, and successful applicants are notified via email. The program provides access to Alibaba Cloud's GPU infrastructure including H100s in the Singapore region, making it particularly attractive for APAC-focused AI startups. The promotion period runs from April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026.

SBIR/STTR Program Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA's SBIR/STTR program funds deep tech startups and small businesses for innovative research and development that aligns with NASA's mission needs. This includes areas like robotic actuation hardware for space environments, motion planning for lunar operations, and autonomous robotic software. The program supports high-impact, high-risk technologies that push innovation forward, including those related to AI.

Preventing global health threats by strengthening surveillance systems to accelerate outbreak detection, notification, and response (CDC-RFA-JG-26-0113) is sponsored by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This funding opportunity supports global health security partners in strengthening public health surveillance systems to accelerate outbreak detection, notification, and response. Activities include improving the public health surveillance workforce, enhancing electronic disease surveillance platforms, and using surveillance data for public health action. This NOFO is relevant for small businesses working on innovative solutions for disease surveillance, potentially involving NLP and AI.

Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning (AI/ML) Focused Open Topic – Army SBIR is sponsored by U.S. Army SBIR. This open topic aims to bring valuable small business innovations in AI/ML to the Army. It accepts both Phase I and Direct to Phase II submissions, focusing on synthetic data generation, data validation and verification, AI risk mitigation, and new ways of implementing and testing Large Language Models (LLM) or Radio Frequency (RF) signal detection models.

Improving Battle Planning through AI - SBIR is sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This SBIR topic seeks proposals for developing novel technologies that decouple course of action (COA) adjudication from COA planning using reduced-order models (ROMs) for efficient estimation and rapid decision-making in complex battlespace scenarios and advanced war-gaming capabilities.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) - Artificial Intelligence (AI) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). This program supports startups and small businesses in translating AI research into products and services, including AI systems and AI-based hardware. It emphasizes next-generation AI technologies that are safe, reliable, fair, robust, privacy-preserving, and efficient.

The Army Applications Laboratory (AAL) DevX Autonomy program (W911NF-26-S-0040) is a continuously reviewed open call solicitation seeking innovative autonomous and unmanned systems (AUS) solutions for the U.S. Army. The program accepts submissions on a monthly basis with cutoffs on the last day of each month through August 31, 2026. Focus areas include autonomous platforms (ground, aerial, maritime), payloads, mission-enabling software and hardware, lethal and non-lethal capabilities, sustainment solutions, and subcomponents for unmanned systems. A distinctive feature is that submissions deemed award-ready can proceed directly to contracting without further competition. The submission format is streamlined: a 6-minute video pitch and structured form rather than traditional lengthy proposals. This program is particularly valuable for AI startups and robotics companies developing autonomous navigation, swarm intelligence, computer vision, or AI decision-making systems for unmanned platforms.

The ITU AI for Good Innovation Factory is the leading United Nations-based startup pitching and acceleration platform helping AI startups grow and scale their solutions to address global challenges aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The program features monthly regional pitching sessions highlighting startups across regions and sectors leading to the AI for Good Innovation Factory Grand Finale at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva Switzerland in July 2026. Four winners are selected for their innovative and scalable AI-powered solutions with the top startup receiving a $20,000 grand cash prize. The program provides global pitching opportunities funding connections to investors expert mentorship exclusive networking with UN agencies and industry leaders and media exposure. Regional events are held worldwide including in Turkey Africa and other regions to identify top startups. This competition is open to ventures leveraging AI machine learning and advanced algorithms to address real-world issues in areas such as healthcare climate sustainability education agriculture disaster response and digital inclusion. This is distinct from the Google.org AI for Social Good awards which provide larger grants to established organizations and from the Technovation AI Ventures Accelerator which focuses specifically on young women.

European Innovation Council EIC Accelerator 2026 for Deep Tech AI Startups and SMEs is sponsored by European Commission (European Innovation Council). The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator is the EU's flagship blended-finance program for high-potential deep tech startups and SMEs, with 2026 cut-off dates on 7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September, and 4 November.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator is the EU's flagship blended-finance program for high-potential deep tech startups and SMEs, with 2026 cut-off dates on 7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September, and 4 November. The Accelerator funds breakthrough innovations at Technology Readiness Levels 6-8, with AI as one of the explicit Strategic Challenges of the program (alongside semiconductors, quantum, biotech, and cleantech). Funded AI companies have included generative AI startups, AI-enabled medical devices, robotics platforms, autonomous systems, and AI for industry. Each funded company receives up to EUR 2.5 million as a non-dilutive grant for innovation activities plus EUR 1-10 million as direct equity investment from the EIC Fund (optional). Total 2026 budget is EUR 634 million split into EUR 220 million for Strategic Challenges (which include AI and digital tech) and EUR 414 million for the Open call. Strong fit for European AI startups building deep-tech products with global market potential.

DigitalOcean Hatch (formerly Startup Launchpad) provides AI and ML startups up to $100,000 in cloud credits and three months of free access to an 8x NVIDIA H100 GPU droplet for training and inference. The program targets pre-seed through Series A startups building on DigitalOcean infrastructure (including Paperspace by DigitalOcean) and includes technical support, mentorship, and ecosystem partnership benefits. Applications can be submitted directly or through partner incubators and accelerators worldwide.

Startup SG Tech is Enterprise Singapore's flagship grant for early-stage deep-tech startups commercializing proprietary technology, including AI, robotics, agentic systems, and machine learning. Proof of Concept (POC) grants up to SGD 250,000 fund early R&D feasibility, while Proof of Value (POV) grants up to SGD 500,000 fund later-stage prototyping and validation with industry partners. AI startups using Singapore as a regional Asia-Pacific base can use Startup SG Tech to fund model development, vertical AI applications, agentic deployments, and integration with Singapore's National AI Strategy 2.0 priorities.

Scaleway, the iliad Group cloud arm operating the Jean Zay-affiliated EU sovereign cloud, provides early-stage European AI startups up to EUR 36,000 in cloud credits. The program supports companies running NVIDIA H100 SXM clusters, AI managed inference endpoints, object storage, and serverless inference on European sovereign infrastructure. Members are also offered access to Scaleway AI clusters and onboarding to the iliad AI ecosystem (including Kyutai). Designed for pre-seed to Series A teams committed to building on European AI infrastructure.

The Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) is a Government of Canada program delivering $200 million in AI funding through the country's regional development agencies. Under Budget 2024, PrairiesCan alone received $33.8 million over five years. The program supports two main streams: AI productization and commercialization for SMEs in the start-up and scale-up phases, and adoption of AI across priority sectors including agriculture, clean technology, healthcare, and manufacturing. RAII helps Canadian businesses enhance productivity, growth, and competitiveness by supporting AI integration into business operations and implementation of AI strategies. Applications are accepted on a continuous rolling basis through each regional agency until December 31, 2028, or until funding is fully committed. All funded projects must be completed by March 31, 2029. The initiative is delivered nationally through six regional development agencies: PrairiesCan (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba), PacifiCan (British Columbia), Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED), Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor).

Science of Science, Research Analytics & Biomedical AI SBIR Funding Opportunity (R43/R44) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). This NIH SBIR funding opportunity supports innovative research proposals focused on advancing the “science of science” within the biomedical research ecosystem, including research analytics platforms, AI-enabled scientific evaluation tools, workforce development technologies, co…

The Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) is a CAD $200 million, five-year federal initiative (2024-2029) supporting AI development and adoption across Canada through regional economic development agencies including PrairiesCan, FedDev Ontario, FedNor, and others. Individual project funding ranges from CAD $250,000 to $5 million with a cap of $10 million per organization over the program life. The initiative funds AI technology commercialization and adoption projects across eight priority areas including advanced manufacturing, clean technology, agriculture, health sciences, natural resources, and digital industries. Projects support job creation, revenue growth, and export expansion with a maximum 3-year duration. Non-government funding must represent at least 50% of project costs for for-profit applicants.

Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratories for Aging Research (AITC) is sponsored by National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH). The AITC program serves as a national resource to promote the development and implementation of artificial intelligence approaches and technology through demonstration projects to improve care and health outcomes for older Americans, including persons with dementia and their caregivers. This includes supporting pilot studies, developing and disseminating technical and policy guidelines, and fostering collaborations with private industry.

EIT Community AI Skill Sync is a program from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) that supports AI-based upskilling and competitiveness across Europe. Developed by EIT Health in collaboration with seven EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), the SkillSync platform provides personalized course recommendations, skill gap identification, and training opportunities for universities, startups, SMEs, and policymakers. The platform offers access to over 80,000 courses, 3,000+ skills (600+ AI-related), and data on 50,000+ AI startups. Eligible participants include universities and research institutions in EU member states. The program is designed to strengthen AI skills development and support Europe's innovation ecosystem.

EIT Community AI Challenge: Driving AI Implementation is a program from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) that connects cities, corporations, and public institutions facing AI-related challenges with innovative European startups ready to solve them. The Europe-wide initiative focuses on areas including data spaces for cities, health and manufacturing, synthetic data, generative AI applications, and process optimization. Startups submitting winning solutions receive a cash prize of €5,000 to continue development or support proof-of-concept work, plus access to the AI Founders Club. Challenge owners gain access to Europe's top AI startups and solutions tailored to their specific needs. The program is open to organizations across the public and private sector in EU member states.

AWS Activate provides cloud compute credits and resources to startups, including a tier focused on AI and generative AI companies. Eligible startups can access AWS Activate credits ranging from a $1,000-$5,000 self-serve Founders package, up to $200,000 via the Portfolio program for companies backed by accredited VCs, accelerators, or incubators, and $200,000+ for AI startups ready to scale on services such as Amazon Bedrock, SageMaker, and Trainium. Credits unlock 200+ AWS services spanning AI/ML, infrastructure, and data. The program is open on a rolling basis to startups that are pre-Series B and founded within the last 10 years.

Scaleway's Startup Program provides European startups with cloud infrastructure credits across three tiers: Founders (up to €1,000), Go-to-Market (€9,000 total), and Growth (up to €36,000 total). The program provides access to Scaleway's European sovereign cloud infrastructure including NVIDIA H100 GPU clusters (1,016 H100 Tensor Core GPUs) for AI/ML workloads. As a European cloud service provider headquartered in France, Scaleway ensures data sovereignty and GDPR compliance, making it attractive for European AI companies requiring sovereign infrastructure. Scaleway has partnered with NVIDIA to offer a dedicated track for NVIDIA Inception members, bringing accelerated computing options to European startups to quickly deploy AI applications and scale operations. The program includes technical guidance, community benefits, and the ability to access high-performance GPU compute without leaving the European data ecosystem. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This is a key program for European AI startups that need sovereign cloud compute with NVIDIA GPU access.

NJ AI Hub Fund is sponsored by New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). This fund supports startups connected to the NJ AI Hub Strategic Innovation Center, which aims to advance the ethical use of AI and support new technological developments throughout the state. It provides access to capital, mentorship, and business support. This is a state-level initiative directly supporting AI startups.

The SCALE AI Acceleration Program provides funding of up to CAD $50,000 (approximately $36,500 USD) to AI startups and SMEs building AI-powered supply chain solutions. Scale AI is Canada's AI Supercluster, a $230 million public-private partnership that accelerates the adoption and commercialization of AI in supply chain management across key Canadian industries including manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and professional services. The Acceleration program supports early-stage companies in developing and validating AI solutions for supply chain optimization, logistics, inventory management, demand forecasting, and related applications. The program operates on a rolling basis.

Meta's Llama Startup Program reimburses early-stage U.S. startups for costs of using Llama models through hosted APIs via cloud inference providers. Members receive up to $6,000 USD per month for up to six months, along with hands-on technical support from Llama experts, resources for getting started with Llama, and access to the Llama developer community. The program is designed to help startups build products on Meta's open-source Llama family of large language models across sectors including technology, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, telecommunications, and retail/eCommerce.

The Alibaba Cloud AI Catalyst Program supports global AI companies to grow and scale by providing up to $120,000 in cloud credits, up to 2 billion free Model Studio tokens (Alibaba's generative AI development platform), POC coupons, 12 months of Alibaba Cloud Academy access, 1:1 office hours with AI experts, invitations to global events, and access to the AI Alliance network and partner connections. The program is especially interested in companies working on AI Video and Image Creation (AI-generated content, video production with synthetic characters), AI Model Aggregators (model distribution platforms), and Content Moderation (deep-fake detection, AI content moderation). Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with notification within 4-5 business days. No equity is taken. Alibaba Cloud has committed over $50 billion to AI infrastructure, making this program a significant compute resource for AI startups particularly in the APAC region but available globally.

PacifiCan, the Government of Canada's economic development agency for British Columbia, offers the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) to support projects that use AI to improve human health, environmental health, and economic resilience across various sectors. Businesses can receive up to CAD $3 million (approximately USD $2.2 million) per project, while not-for-profit organizations can receive up to CAD $5 million (approximately USD $3.65 million) per project. The program supports AI commercialization, AI adoption in key sectors, advancement of BC's AI ecosystem, and projects that generate revenue and create high-quality jobs. Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Defense SBIR/STTR Funding Opportunities is sponsored by Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD SBIR/STTR programs use Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) and Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs) to procure basic and applied research for scientific study and experimentation. These programs support small businesses conducting innovative R&D to advance the state-of-the-art and increase knowledge, with a focus on defense-related technologies, including AI.

The AI2 Incubator is the Allen Institute for AI's start-up accelerator that co-founds applied AI companies with founders building product-focused AI businesses on top of state-of-the-art research. The program provides up to $600,000 in seed capital, approximately $1 million in cloud compute credits, deep engineering and ML scientist support, founder coaching, fundraising guidance, and access to Ai2's research portfolio. Selected teams spend 4-18 months working alongside AI2 scientists in Seattle to validate technical risks and move toward product-market fit. The incubator co-founds about 15 applied AI startups per year across verticals including generative AI applications, vertical SaaS, developer tools, science and biotech AI, and enterprise AI. Equity is taken; this is structured as co-founding rather than a traditional grant, but the cash and compute support are substantially non-dilutive in spirit (very high equity given to founders relative to typical seed investments).

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Funding Opportunities is sponsored by Department of Energy (DOE) ARPA-E. ARPA-E funds breakthrough AI technologies for energy applications, with typical awards ranging from $1 million to $10 million over three years. Recent focus areas include AI for grid optimization, renewable energy forecasting, and carbon capture technologies.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Grant is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR. This program focuses on cutting-edge technologies in deep learning-based AI systems and AI-based hardware. It emphasizes next-generation AI technologies that are safe, reliable, fair, robust, privacy-preserving, and efficient. It also includes novel AI hardware technologies like neuromorphic computing and smart edge devices. Small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, located in the US, and at least 50% owned by US citizens or permanent residents are eligible.