BIRD Cyber

BIRD Cyber

Offers cybersecurity innovators early-stage protection support, test infrastructure, and specialist advisory through the BIRD Cyber programme.

Eligibility · United States, Israel

BIRD Cyber is a targeted vertical programme of the BIRD Foundation — the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation established in 1977 — focused specifically on cybersecurity and emerging technologies for the protection of critical infrastructure. Launched in June 2022 through a tripartite agreement among the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD), and the BIRD Foundation, the programme supports joint R&D projects between one U.S. entity and one Israeli entity aimed at demonstrating and piloting innovative cybersecurity solutions that can be deployed in operational environments.

Funding takes the form of conditional grants of up to $1.5 million per project, covering up to 50% of the total joint project budget; repayment is due only upon commercial success, functioning as a royalty-backed instrument. Eligible project pairs must include one U.S. company and one Israeli company, or a company and a university or research institution, one from each country. Technology Readiness Levels targeted are TRL 3–7, with the programme specifically seeking projects that are market-driven and include pilot implementations with identified end-users. Topics are defined per cycle by DHS S&T and INCD; the 2024 cycle covered cyber protection for legacy medical devices, BGP hijacking remediation, threat hunting on encrypted traffic, face image self-enrollment standards, and human-machine AI interface research.

The BIRD Foundation board approves projects twice per year. As of mid-2026, the most recent completed cycle was 2024; the 2026 cycle dates had not been announced. Applicants should pre-register interest with the BIRD Cyber programme lead and monitor the BIRD Foundation website (birdf.com) for cycle announcements. The programme is most accessible to cybersecurity companies at the mid-TRL stage that have an existing or prospective Israeli counterpart and a credible path to U.S. critical infrastructure deployment.