Harvard Grid Accelerator

The Harvard Grid Accelerator is one of Harvard Office of Technology Development’s main translational funding routes, and it supports innovations in engineering and the physical sciences that can move toward startup formation. It is the successor to the former Physical Sciences Accelerator, and it sits within Harvard OTD’s broader commercialization work alongside biomedical and climate-focused funds. The program is open to Harvard students and researchers working on technology-driven solutions with societal impact. It runs on an annual request-for-proposals cycle, with the 2026 deadline falling on April 13, 2026. The extracted record does not publish award amounts, so the public-facing picture is the scope, cadence, and eligibility rather than a detailed funding table. What is clear is that the program is limited to Harvard-affiliated applicants and is meant to advance work that can become commercially self-sustaining. Grid is a good fit for teams that can show a technical concept, an engineering path to validation, and a credible startup direction. It is not general-purpose research support; it is designed to push projects across the line from promising lab work into a form that can be tested as a venture. Applications are strongest when the technology, the user problem, and the commercial logic are all visible in the proposal, even if the company itself has not yet formed.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.