Grants for builders on Sui in 2026
Sui says it no longer runs open grants. What the Sui Foundation offers instead, according to our tracker: RFPs, a $25K academic research award and direct investment. Data from our web3 grant tracker, last verified 2026-09-27.
What gets funded on Sui
No open grant program. The tracker note reads: “Sui says it no longer runs open grants: RFPs, research awards and direct investment instead”.
Listed amounts: a $25K academic research award, plus RFPs and direct investment. Equity is listed as “No (research award)”: the no-equity entry refers to the research award.
From the official page (sui.io/programs-funding, checked 2026-09-30):
- Sui says it focuses on connecting founders with meaningful, long-term support rather than grants.
- Academic research award: $25K for research that advances the science or security of blockchain technology.
- RFPs: for specific technical or ecosystem challenges the Sui Foundation is funding.
- Direct investment: strategic investments in high-impact projects aligned with Sui’s long-term goals, typically teams building core primitives or ecosystem-wide apps.
- Hydropower, the foundation’s official accelerator for early-stage founders: the page says no equity is taken up front for joining.
Sui grant programs: amounts, stage, type
| Program | Ticket | Stage | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sui Foundation — Programs & FundingOfficial: sui.io/programs-funding | $25K academic research award; RFPs; direct investment | Any | Ecosystem foundation |
Equity, per the tracker: Sui Foundation: “No (research award)”. Terms change, so confirm on the official page before you apply.
Which route fits your team
- Researcher — Academic research award: $25K.
- Team that can solve a listed challenge — Answer an open RFP.
- Early-stage founder — The accelerator: support, mentorship and connections to capital rather than a grant.
- Core primitive or ecosystem-wide app — Direct investment from the foundation: an investment, not a grant.
- Non-dilutive grant for a first milestone — Sui has no open grant for that. A chain-agnostic grant program is the route: see the next section.
Chain-agnostic options
Ecosystem programs fund work on their own chain. The options below do not depend on the chain you build on, and none of them stops you from applying to the Sui program above as well.
ZK Prime Capital grants. $5K–$75K, no equity, idea or prototype stage welcome, reply within 5 business days. The same application document you write for Sui Foundation is accepted, and there is no exclusivity. If the milestone ships, the fund can continue into a $50K–$250K round, 3–6 months of incubation and a token launch. How the program works.
ZK Prime funds three kinds of project on any chain, Sui included: on-chain AI agents, DeFAI and ZK infrastructure. If yours is one of them, the chain you build on is not a filter.
Public-goods rounds. For open-source and public-goods work, the tracker lists quadratic funding rounds that are not tied to one chain: Gitcoin and Giveth.
Everything in one table. The web3 grants tracker compares all 27 programs by ticket, equity and stage; each has a program guide.
Building on Sui? Apply to ZK Prime in parallel
Same document, no exclusivity. $5K–$75K non-dilutive grants for on-chain AI agents, DeFAI and ZK infrastructure at idea or prototype stage; reply within 5 business days.
Apply with the same doc ▸Frequently asked questions
How much funding can builders on Sui get?
Our tracker lists the ticket for Sui Foundation as: $25K academic research award; RFPs; direct investment. Confirm current amounts on the official page; last verified 2026-09-27.
Do Sui grant programs take equity?
Our tracker lists equity as: Sui Foundation: “No (research award)”. Check the terms of each funding route on the official page before applying. Direct investment from the Sui Foundation is a strategic investment, not a grant; the official page says its accelerator takes no equity up front for joining. ZK Prime Capital grants are non-dilutive as well.
Does Sui still run open grants?
No. According to our tracker (last verified 2026-09-27), Sui says it no longer runs open grants and offers RFPs, research awards and direct investment instead. The listed amounts are a $25K academic research award, plus RFPs and direct investment.
Grants on other chains
Ethereum & L2s · Arbitrum · Optimism · Starknet · Solana · Avalanche · Aptos · Polkadot · Stellar · Celo · Aleo · Zcash · Tezos · Stacks · Filecoin · Cosmos · Cardano · all chains
Source: ZK Prime web3 grant tracker, last verified 2026-09-27; official pages checked 2026-09-30. Writing the application: one-page template. Spotted an outdated detail? Open a PR.