Non-dilutive Defense & Space accelerators
These defense and space programs fund or engage startups without taking any equity, because the government cannot hold stakes in your company. The money arrives as SBIR or STTR contracts, prize competition awards, or in some cases no money at all, just structured access to government customers. Each record states the published award ranges, the submission portal, and whether participation actually pays.
Showing 7 of 7 programs
| Check size | Equity | Terms | Format | Next window | Signal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFWERX SBIR/STTR (formerly Open Topic)dual-use defense technology (Air Force) | Phase I: up to $323,000 (up to six months); Phase II: up to $2.1 million; TACFI: $375,000 to $2 million; STRATFI: $3 million to $15 million in SBIR/STTR funds; Strategic Breakthrough: up to $30 million with a 1:1 match | Not publishedNot an equity accelerator: AFWERX manages the Department of the Air Force's SBIR and STTR programs, which award non-dilutive contracts. Per the AFWERX Get Funded page (September 28, 2026): Phase I runs up to six months and pays up to $323,000; Phase II runs up to 24 months and pays up to $2.1 million, and companies with a mature solution, an identified DAF customer and end user, and a signed Customer Memorandum can apply directly to Phase II (D2P2). Sequential funding for companies with a current or recent Phase II: TACFI $375,000 to $2 million with 1:1 cost sharing (up to 24 months); STRATFI $3 million to $15 million in SBIR/STTR funding, matched by $6 million to $45 million in government or private investment (up to 48 months); Strategic Breakthrough, a federal award of up to $30 million with a required 1:1 match (up to 48 months). investment_amount states STRATFI as the SBIR/STTR-funded portion, the same convention as the spacewerx record. equity_pct null because government contracts take no equity. City/state null: AFWERX works from several locations and proposals are submitted online through DSIP. | Non-dilutive | Not published | Remote | Oct 21, 2026 | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| Army xTech Prize CompetitionsArmy technology (prize competitions) | Not publishedNon-dilutive prize competition series: Phase 1 white paper, Phase 2 pitch or demonstration events, with cash prizes plus potential follow-on Army contracts (incl. SBIR pathways), mentorship and networking. Prize pools vary per competition. xTech Apex Intercept (low-cost interceptors) offers up to $8,000,000 total: up to 30 Phase 1 finalists at $25,000 each and up to 18 Phase 2 winners sharing $7.25M across four topic areas (per the Apex Intercept competition page, July 2026). Eligibility spans small, medium and large businesses from the US and allied countries. | Not publishedNon-dilutive prize competition series: Phase 1 white paper, Phase 2 pitch or demonstration events, with cash prizes plus potential follow-on Army contracts (incl. SBIR pathways), mentorship and networking. Prize pools vary per competition. xTech Apex Intercept (low-cost interceptors) offers up to $8,000,000 total: up to 30 Phase 1 finalists at $25,000 each and up to 18 Phase 2 winners sharing $7.25M across four topic areas (per the Apex Intercept competition page, July 2026). Eligibility spans small, medium and large businesses from the US and allied countries. | Non-dilutive | Not published | Remote | None confirmed | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| Catalyst Accelerator (Catalyst Space Accelerator)space and national-security tech for U.S. Space Force | Not publishedDefense customer-discovery accelerator connecting startups with DoD/Space Force stakeholders (Space Delta 7 AI/ML 'CAAMO' cohort and BMC3I TAP Lab Cohort 4 ran in Spring 2026); 6-week Stage 1 cohort experience. The site does not publish stipend/investment figures or equity terms, so those are null; historically cohorts have been non-dilutive with no equity taken. BMC3I TAP Lab Phase 1 applications, opened at the July 21 to 23, 2026 Mission Catalyst Summit, are now closed. New in Fall 2026: an Investment Readiness Boot Camp (CAIRB; customer AFRL) for pre-Series A space-technology companies with no more than $5M in investment, not focused on government customer discovery; applications ran August 20 to September 16, 2026, the boot camp runs October 12 to 23, 2026 in Colorado Springs, and lodging is provided for 11 nights per company. No next application window was posted as of 2026-09-28. | Not publishedDefense customer-discovery accelerator connecting startups with DoD/Space Force stakeholders (Space Delta 7 AI/ML 'CAAMO' cohort and BMC3I TAP Lab Cohort 4 ran in Spring 2026); 6-week Stage 1 cohort experience. The site does not publish stipend/investment figures or equity terms, so those are null; historically cohorts have been non-dilutive with no equity taken. BMC3I TAP Lab Phase 1 applications, opened at the July 21 to 23, 2026 Mission Catalyst Summit, are now closed. New in Fall 2026: an Investment Readiness Boot Camp (CAIRB; customer AFRL) for pre-Series A space-technology companies with no more than $5M in investment, not focused on government customer discovery; applications ran August 20 to September 16, 2026, the boot camp runs October 12 to 23, 2026 in Colorado Springs, and lodging is provided for 11 nights per company. No next application window was posted as of 2026-09-28. | Non-dilutive | CO | Hybrid | None confirmed | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| Hyperspace Challengespace technology for USSF/AFRL | Not publishedGovernment-customer discovery accelerator, not an investment program: 2025 Fall Challenge page states 'There is NO promise of funding of any sort as a result of participating.' Selected 2025 companies received one-on-one consulting (the linked 2025 page lists 14 hours of consultation; an older version of the page said 6 to 10 hours) plus access to government customers; earlier editions (e.g., 2021) offered up to $100k in cash prizes. Investment/equity null accordingly. 2025 cycle: applications closed 2025-09-16, Accelerator Week 2025-11-05/06. As of 2026-09-28 no 2026 cycle has been announced and the site focuses on networking events, webinars and training, so next_deadline null. | Not publishedGovernment-customer discovery accelerator, not an investment program: 2025 Fall Challenge page states 'There is NO promise of funding of any sort as a result of participating.' Selected 2025 companies received one-on-one consulting (the linked 2025 page lists 14 hours of consultation; an older version of the page said 6 to 10 hours) plus access to government customers; earlier editions (e.g., 2021) offered up to $100k in cash prizes. Investment/equity null accordingly. 2025 cycle: applications closed 2025-09-16, Accelerator Week 2025-11-05/06. As of 2026-09-28 no 2026 cycle has been announced and the site focuses on networking events, webinars and training, so next_deadline null. | Non-dilutive | NM | Hybrid | None confirmed | Oct 1, 2026 | VerifiedPossibly dormantWe could not confirm a recent or upcoming cohort. It may have paused or wound down. Verify before applying. |
| NSIN (National Security Innovation Network)national security venture/talent programs | Not publishedDoD program office (formerly MD5) under DIU running collaboration and acceleration programs (Hacking for Defense, boot camps, venture programs) with non-dilutive support. No investment amounts published. Current programming could not be verified: as of 2026-09-28 the nsin.mil domain no longer resolves (no DNS record), so the website and application links are removed (the URLs stay in sources); the NSIN Forge page on partner FedTech's site shows registration closed; and no cohort announcements after the 2024 DIU restructuring were found, so status is possibly_inactive pending confirmation. | Not publishedDoD program office (formerly MD5) under DIU running collaboration and acceleration programs (Hacking for Defense, boot camps, venture programs) with non-dilutive support. No investment amounts published. Current programming could not be verified: as of 2026-09-28 the nsin.mil domain no longer resolves (no DNS record), so the website and application links are removed (the URLs stay in sources); the NSIN Forge page on partner FedTech's site shows registration closed; and no cohort announcements after the 2024 DIU restructuring were found, so status is possibly_inactive pending confirmation. | Non-dilutive | VA | Hybrid | None confirmed | Sep 28, 2026 | Secondary sourcePossibly dormantWe could not confirm a recent or upcoming cohort. It may have paused or wound down. Verify before applying. |
| SOFWERXspecial operations technology | Not publishedNot a cohort accelerator: an innovation platform connecting companies to USSOCOM via Tech Tuesday pitch slots (20-minute virtual briefings to government stakeholders; new submissions paused since September 18, 2026), assessment/technical experimentation events, tech sprints, RFIs, and SBIR opportunities that can lead to government contracts. No equity taken and no fixed award amount, hence nulls. Deadlines vary by event and SBIR release (USSOCOM SBIR 26.BZ Release 6 closes October 21, 2026 at noon ET), so next_deadline is null. | Not publishedNot a cohort accelerator: an innovation platform connecting companies to USSOCOM via Tech Tuesday pitch slots (20-minute virtual briefings to government stakeholders; new submissions paused since September 18, 2026), assessment/technical experimentation events, tech sprints, RFIs, and SBIR opportunities that can lead to government contracts. No equity taken and no fixed award amount, hence nulls. Deadlines vary by event and SBIR release (USSOCOM SBIR 26.BZ Release 6 closes October 21, 2026 at noon ET), so next_deadline is null. | Non-dilutive | FL | Hybrid | Oct 21, 2026 | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| SpaceWERX (SBIR/STTR, STRATFI/TACFI, Accelerate)space technology for the U.S. Space Force | Phase I: $75K to $180K; Phase II (incl. D2P2): $1.25M to $1.8M; TACFI: $375K to $2M; STRATFI: $3M to $15M in SBIR/STTR funds, matched by outside funds (per the SpaceWERX and AFWERX Get Funded pages, September 2026) | Not publishedInnovation arm of the U.S. Space Force; funds companies through non-dilutive SBIR/STTR contracts (Spark, Ventures, and Accelerate branches, incl. cohorts and STRATFI/TACFI scale-up funding); equity null because contracts take no equity. STRATFI convention: investment_amount gives the SBIR/STTR-funded portion ($3M to $15M, per the AFWERX Get Funded page, which adds that it is matched by $6M to $45M in government or private investment), the same convention as the afwerx-open-topic record; the SpaceWERX Get Funded page itself lists STRATFI as $6M to $45M. Space PY26.2 TACFI accepts submissions on a continuous, rolling basis. | Non-dilutive | Not published | Remote | Oct 21, 2026 | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
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