Digital ScienceGrant

Up to £25,000 Digital Science Catalyst Grant

Oct 05, 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Opportunity type

Grant

Funding

Fully Funded

Location

Global

Deadline

Oct 05, 2026 17:00:00 GMT

About this opportunity

Digital Science, the research technology company behind Overleaf, Altmetric, Dimensions and Figshare, awards up to £25,000 equity-free to early-stage ideas that use software to advance research. The 2026 round, the grant's 16th year, backs agentic AI workflows researchers can trust: multi-step tools that plan, act and review inside real research work, with audit trails and provenance built in. Students, founders, research teams and individuals anywhere can apply with a concept, a prototype or a working product.

What you get:

Up to £25,000, equity-free, which Digital Science may split across more than one winner
Advice and introductions from a team with decades of experience in research and research software, which the organisers say most applicants come away with even if they do not win

What you'll do:

Submit a proposal of up to 1,500 words covering the problem, your workflow, trust and governance, team, current stage, competitors, vision, fit with Digital Science and budget
Share it as a document link through a short online form
If shortlisted, join a short video interview with a live demo where applicable

Key dates:

Applications opened Tuesday 1 September 2026
Applications close Monday 5 October 2026 at 17:00 BST (12:00 EDT)
Judging runs Monday 12 October to Friday 20 November 2026
Winners announced the week commencing Monday 30 November 2026

More information:

Judges score seven areas: team, problem, solution, competitors, market, progress to date and fit with Digital Science
Questions go to the Catalyst Grant team by the contact email on the official page

Who can apply

Open globally to individuals, startups and research teams
Students, founders, research teams and individuals are all eligible
Early stage: a concept, prototype or working product; no revenue or complete business plan required
Your tool must be an agentic workflow (multi-step, not a single prompt) that sits in the research lifecycle: writing, discovery, evidence synthesis, peer review, funding decisions or research integrity
Proposal of no more than 1,500 words using the nine set headings, shared as a link

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Good to know

+Up to £25,000 in equity-free funding for an early-stage idea
+Open to anyone, anywhere: students, researchers, founders or individuals with an idea
+No revenue or finished product needed
+Free to apply

Worth checking yourself

!Closes 5 October at 17:00 London time, which is midday on the US East Coast
!This year's theme is narrow: trustworthy multi-step AI tools that sit inside research work, such as writing, discovery or peer review
!The £25,000 may be split between more than one winner

Sources checked

DIdigital-science.comApplyDIdigital-science.comApplyDOdocs.google.comOfficialDIdigital-science.comApplyDIdigital-science.comApplyDIdigital-science.comApplyDIdigital-science.comApplyOPopportunitydesk.orgOfficial

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