ARPA-H Behavioral Health Initiative

ARPA-H’s Behavioral Health Initiative sits under the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health and is a one-off grant program for behavioral health, addiction, and mental health work. The initiative is sized at $139 million, with awards from $500,000 to $15 million and a median actual award of $2 million. The first research teams were announced in 2024, which anchors it as a live federal initiative rather than a historic call. Eligibility is limited to US-based for-profit organizations. Nonprofits and individuals are excluded, the TRL window runs from 3 to 7, and the same scope cannot be stacked onto another award. The scale and award band point to teams that can carry precision behavioral-health concepts from technical proof into something that can be developed into a real intervention. The strongest fit is work that targets addiction, mental health, or treatment selection with enough rigor to survive a competitive federal process. Teams that can connect a focused clinical problem to a practical delivery model should read the initiative well. The one-off structure means timing matters, because there is no standing annual cadence to wait for.

No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: One-off.