Grants for builders on Tezos in 2026
The Tezos Foundation gives grants for work on Tezos and on Etherlink. The tracker lists no fixed ticket and no stage requirement; the foundation’s own page describes a three-stage process that takes about eight weeks for successful proposals. Data from our web3 grant tracker, last verified 2026-09-27.
What gets funded on Tezos
Focus (tracker): Tezos ecosystem. The ticket varies; no stage requirement is listed and no equity is taken.
From the official page (tezos.foundation/grants, checked 2026-09-30):
- Grants are available for Tezos and for Etherlink, which the foundation describes as a Smart Rollup Layer 2.
- Areas of interest: core development, Tech.Rel (support for developers, bakers and operators), infrastructure and tooling, arts and culture, DeFi, business development, and gaming.
- The process has three stages: proposal, award and post-award. For successful proposals, review takes about four weeks on average and the paperwork about another four.
- Payments are usually structured along milestones: the grantee submits a report for each milestone, and payment follows once it is approved.
- DeFi projects must pass a security audit by a recognised third-party firm covering all smart contracts and relevant code.
Tezos grant programs: amounts, stage, type
| Program | Ticket | Stage | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tezos Foundation GrantsOfficial: tezos.foundation/grants | Varies | Any | Ecosystem foundation |
Equity, per the tracker: “No” for this program. Terms change, so confirm on the official page before you apply.
Which route fits your team
- Core protocol, infrastructure or tooling — Apply under the matching area of interest; each has its own proposal target list on the official page.
- DeFi project — Budget for a third-party security audit: the foundation requires one for DeFi projects.
- Building on Etherlink — Covered by the same grant program.
- Tight timeline — Plan for roughly eight weeks from proposal to signed grant. For a faster option in parallel, 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 Tezos 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 Tezos 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, Tezos 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 Tezos? 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 Tezos get?
Our tracker lists the ticket for Tezos Foundation as: Varies. Where the ticket varies there is no single fixed amount, so size the request to one milestone. Confirm current amounts on the official page; last verified 2026-09-27.
Do Tezos grant programs take equity?
No. Our tracker lists Tezos Foundation as non-dilutive: no equity is taken. ZK Prime Capital grants are non-dilutive as well.
How long does a Tezos Foundation grant take?
For successful proposals, the Tezos Foundation says review takes about four weeks on average and the paperwork about another four. Payments are then usually made by milestone. Source: tezos.foundation/grants, checked 2026-09-30.
Grants on other chains
Ethereum & L2s · Arbitrum · Optimism · Starknet · Solana · Avalanche · Sui · Aptos · Polkadot · Stellar · Celo · Aleo · Zcash · 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.