Photonics grants in the United States
Explore Photonics grants for companies in the United States. This list brings together funding for lasers, optics, integrated photonics, imaging and optical communications from US innovation agencies, research funders and foundations, international programs open to applicants in the United States, and competitions any company can enter, with the deadline, award size and eligibility on every listing. Grants aimed at Photonics in the United States come first.
Showing 217-240 of 261 grants
Defence Rapid Impact
UKDI / DASA · United Kingdom
Funds innovators from any country developing near-term defence technology prototypes at TRL 6 or 7 through the MOD Defence Innovation Fund.
MIT.nano Industry Consortium / Foundry Access
MIT.nano · United States
Provides Massachusetts startup teams access to advanced prototyping and fabrication through MIT.nano collaboration.
Open Call for Innovation
UKDI / DASA · United Kingdom
Funds organisations worldwide developing novel defence and security innovations across any technology area from TRL 1 to TRL 8.
SPIE Startup Challenge
SPIE · United States
Pays up to $10,000 to photonics startups pitching at Photonics West 2027.
Cooperative Agreement for In Vivo High-Resolution Imaging for Inner Ear Visualization
NIH · United States
Funds high-risk clinical trials of new ways to see inside the living human inner ear. A trial is compulsory, and NIH stays in the room.
Grand Challenges — Ultralow-Cost Diagnostics and Screening for Low-Income Countries
Gates Foundation · United States
Funds global teams developing diagnostic devices and screening tools that cost approximately $1 per test or near-zero incremental cost per person screened for deployment in low-income countries.
In Vivo High-Resolution Imaging for Inner Ear Visualization
NIH · United States
Funds building the imaging that can finally show hair cells and membranes inside a living human ear. A clinical trial is optional.
RF Architectures Applying Photonic Timing and Routing (RAAPTR)
DARPA · United States
Funds three to five teams from a $58 million pool to build defense-grade RF systems that use optical timing instead of conventional microwave generation.
SPIE Startup Challenge
SPIE · United States
Pays photonics startups up to $10,000 for pitching live at SPIE Photonics West.
South Summit Brazil Startup Competition
South Summit · Spain
Offers pitch time, mentoring and investor exposure to five category-winning startups.
Tufts New Ventures Competition
Derby E-Center · United States
Awards up to $250,000 in cash and in-kind prizes to Tufts-affiliated founders.
Datadog for Open Source Projects
Datadog Inc. · United States
Offers qualifying open-source projects free full Datadog access to support monitoring and reliability operations.
Founders Factory
Founders Factory · United Kingdom
Provides venture studio support, go-to-market coaching, and startup growth services through cohort engagement.
MSCA Staff Exchanges 2027
European Commission · European Union
Funds secondments of staff between partner organisations worldwide so researchers and R&I staff gain cross-sector, cross-country and cross-discipline experience.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2027
European Commission · European Union
Pays a postdoctoral researcher's fellowship at a host organisation in Europe, or abroad with a mandatory return phase, to build international research experience.
Rising UP in Spain 2026
🇪🇸ICEX · Spain
Backs startups setting up and scaling their business in Spain.
ASML Emerging Innovator Award
ASML · Netherlands
Offers breakthrough hardware startups coaching and up to €4,000 in travel support.
AWS Activate Founders Package
AWS · United States
Offers early-stage founders startup credits for compute on AWS so teams can prototype and launch without immediate spend.
AWS Activate Portfolio Package
AWS · United States
Offers provider-backed startups additional AWS startup credits for advanced architecture, deployment, and customer growth through the portfolio program.
Datadog for Startups
Datadog Inc. · United States
Offers Series A or earlier technology startups free Datadog observability and security credits for one year.
Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award
Cisco & Global Citizen · United States
Awards $250,000 a year to an 18-30 tech innovator fighting extreme poverty.
Heartland Challenge Startup Competition
UArk OEI · United States
Awards up to $40,000 to student-owned startup ventures pitching like a VC round.
Hult Prize
Hult Prize · United States
Awards $1 million in seed funding to the winning student-led startup each year.
Lightcone Commons Grant Round
Lightcone · United States
Funds cost-effective projects — nonprofit or for-profit — recommended by evaluators to a pool of major donors.