KickstarterFellowship

$10,000 Next Wave Fund Fellowship

Rolling

Opportunity type

Fellowship

Funding

Partially Funded

Location

United States

Deadline

Rolling

About this opportunity

Kickstarter and Google run this fund for early stage tech startups and small businesses in the United States, working across hardware, software, gaming and connected technology. Selected founders get a $10,000 pledge toward their Kickstarter goal, hands on campaign coaching from Kickstarter's Design and Technology team, and no cost training built by Google. The money only reaches you if your campaign hits its funding goal, because Kickstarter funds all or nothing.

What you get:

A $10,000 pledge toward your funding goal when your project goes live on Kickstarter
Hands on guidance from Kickstarter's Design and Technology team on strategy, positioning, launch execution and community engagement
No cost access to training designed and taught by experts at Google, such as the Google AI Professional Certificate and workshops led by Grow with Google Coaches
Access to Kickstarter's community forum for entrepreneurs in the design and technology spaces
Promotion of your crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter's newsletter and social channels
The chance to apply to join Google Accelerators as your business grows

What you'll do:

Submit an application of up to 38 questions covering you, your team and your project idea
Wait up to six weeks for a decision, made by representatives from Kickstarter and Google
If selected, launch your project exclusively on Kickstarter within six months
Run the campaign with Kickstarter's Design and Technology team, and take part in coordinated social and content promotion of your participation in the fund
Take the Google training and, if you want it, apply to a Google Accelerator later

Key dates:

Applications opened 29 April 2026 and are accepted on a rolling basis
Kickstarter says it plans to select applicants on a rolling basis for the next year, which points to roughly April 2027, though no closing date is published
Decisions come within six weeks of applying
Selected recipients must launch their Kickstarter project within six months

More information:

Full FAQ and eligibility on the Next Wave Fund page at start.kickstarter.com/next-wave-fund
The complete 38 question application can be downloaded as a PDF before you start
Kickstarter published its first six recipients on 23 June 2026, with links to their live campaigns

Who can apply

You are an entrepreneur or small business with fewer than 20 full time employees
Your project is focused on technology or digital gaming. Kickstarter defines a technology project as one incorporating hardware, software, new materials or innovative functionality in the product being developed. Gaming projects should incorporate software or hardware
At least one member of your team is a citizen, resident, or O-1 visa holder in the United States
The primary contact for your project must be at least 18 years old, and must be the same person who acts as the verified identity for launching the project on Kickstarter
Both the organisation and the bank account linked to your Kickstarter project must be located in the United States
The project fits all of Kickstarter's rules
You must launch a Kickstarter project to receive anything. Kickstarter states there is no way to receive the funding without launching one
Kickstarter funds all or nothing. If your project does not reach its funding goal the $10,000 is treated like any other pledge and is not disbursed to you
If your project does succeed, the $10,000 is aggregated with other backer support and is subject to Kickstarter's 5% platform fee

AI Verification

✓ AI Verified

Our AI read the official sources and cross-checked the key facts. Here is what held up, and what it could not confirm.

We could not fully verify this organization or all of its details. Check it independently on the official website before you apply, and never share sensitive personal or financial information until you are sure a request is genuine.

LOT Verification ScoreSolid

Cross-checked 16 of 20 key facts

Confirmed Our best read Not stated

Good to know

+$10,000 towards your Kickstarter goal, plus mentoring from Kickstarter's Design and Technology team
+A Google AI Professional Certificate, Grow with Google workshops, and a route into Google's accelerators
+Genuinely rolling. Kickstarter says twice that applications are accepted on a rolling basis, so there is no date to miss
+Free to apply, and you do not need to have run a Kickstarter campaign before
+Six recipients were published in June 2026 with live campaigns you can go and look at

Worth checking yourself

!The $10,000 is a pledge to your campaign, not a cheque. Kickstarter's own agreement says that if your project does not reach its funding goal, the grant is treated like any other pledge and is not paid out. Miss your target and you receive nothing
!A successful campaign still loses 5 per cent to Kickstarter's platform fee
!Launching a Kickstarter campaign is the only route to the money, so this is not for a project you were not going to crowdfund anyway
!Your organisation and your bank account must both be in the United States, and at least one team member must be a US citizen, resident or O-1 holder
!Fewer than 20 full-time employees, and it must be a technology or digital gaming product
!Kickstarter says it plans to select on a rolling basis for the next year from April 2026, so this probably closes around April 2027 even though no end date is published

Sources checked

STstart.kickstarter.comApplyUPupdates.kickstarter.comOfficialUPupdates.kickstarter.comOfficialUPupdates.kickstarter.comOfficialD3d3mlfyygrfdi2i.cloudfront.netOfficialSHshare.hsforms.comOfficial

LOT finds and checks opportunities from public sources. Always confirm details on the organiser’s own page before applying.