Grants and fellowships
14 programmes. Of these, 10 say they take no equity, and 5 have applications open.
A two-year, equity-free fellowship for first-time hard tech founders in the US. Each fellow gets a US$100k living stipend a year, and each project gets US$100k in R&D support.
US$100k grant · equity-free
An Austrian grant for deep tech founders before or just after incorporation, funding a proof of concept or prototype based on applied research over one to two years.
Funding not published · equity-free
Free, equity-free nine-month part-time fellowship that helps PhD researchers at UK and European universities test the founder path, mostly online with three in-person events starting in London.
Funding not published · equity-free
The US defence department's SBIR and STTR programmes for US small businesses, run through annual Broad Agency Announcements and Commercial Solutions Openings with topics released monthly.
Funding not published · equity-free
Department of Energy grants for US small businesses working on energy and science technologies, in phases from feasibility (Phase I) to development and prototyping (Phase II).
Funding not published · equity-free
The EU's Horizon Europe programme for start-ups and SMEs with breakthrough innovations. It offers a grant below EUR 2.5 million, equity investment of EUR 1-10 million, or both, plus coaching.
Funding not published · equity not published
NASA's small business research funding for US companies. Since 2026, SBIR, STTR and SBIR Ignite subtopics are released in appendices to a single announcement through the year.
Funding not published · equity-free
DST fellowship paying aspiring technology entrepreneurs ₹10,000 to ₹30,000 a month for up to 12 months, extendable to 18, while they develop a business idea full time at an approved host incubator.
Funding not published · equity not published
DST pre-incubation scheme that gives individual innovators and early startups a prototyping grant of up to ₹20 lakh, or up to ₹40 lakh for deeptech, through host incubators known as PRAYAS Centres.
Funding not published · equity not published
The SBIR programme of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, funding US small businesses through one funding cycle a year.
Funding not published · equity-free
Federal grants for US small businesses commercialising deep technology. NSF invests up to US$2 million per company across phases and takes no equity; applicants start with a Project Pitch.
Funding not published · equity-free
A 12-month fellowship for UK engineering spinouts and startups, including university researchers spinning out. Fellows get a grant of up to GBP 75,000 with coaching and mentoring, and give up no equity.
Funding not published · equity-free
A competitive Singapore government grant for startups commercialising proprietary technology, with Proof-of-Concept and Proof-of-Value tracks paid on milestones.
Funding not published · equity not published
An EU-funded programme for women-led, early-stage deep tech startups in Europe. Each selected startup receives EUR 75,000 in non-dilutive funding plus mentoring, coaching and training.
€75k grant · equity-free
We list 14 programmes: Activate Fellowship, aws Preseed - Deep Tech, Conception X Venture Scientist 100, DoD SBIR/STTR, DOE SBIR/STTR, EIC Accelerator and 8 more. Each listing links to the programme's own pages and shows the day we last verified it.
10 of the 14 say they take no equity: Activate Fellowship, aws Preseed - Deep Tech, Conception X Venture Scientist 100, DoD SBIR/STTR, DOE SBIR/STTR and 5 more. 4 do not publish their equity terms.
Applications are open for Activate Fellowship (closes 30 October 2026), EIC Accelerator (closes 4 November 2026), NSF SBIR/STTR (America's Seed Fund) (closes 4 November 2026), Conception X Venture Scientist 100 (closes 6 December 2026) and Women TechEU (closes 14 January 2027). The deadlines page lists every date we track.
London (2), Alexandria (1), Brussels (1), Silver Spring (1), Singapore (1) and Washington (1). Delivery varies: each listing says whether the programme runs in person, remotely or both.
Send us your dates and terms and we will publish them with a link to your own pages.