Yes - applicants can be any age and from any country. No credentials are required.

We are interested in projects that leverage and support quantum technology to benefit humanity. Projects are not strictly required to be open source or open publication - though we recommend it as a starting point. It is, however, important to provide a rationale in your application for any exceptions (for example, if you think it’d be best for the world to reserve the IP for a company).

We prefer projects that can be completed within 3-6 months. However, if there is a reason that your project should have a longer timeline, then include that in your application and we will consider it.

No. We prefer for projects to start within six months of acceptance. If you are planning a scheduled start, then let us know in your proposal. If accepted, then we will send the first batch of funds on your scheduled start.

We’ll publish a list of all the winners on unitary.fund and you will receive 50% of your grant up front. Payment will come by Paypal or wire transfer. Additionally, you can opt in to receive expanded access to cloud-based quantum hardware from Rigetti QCS, Azure Quantum and IBM Quantum (read our blog post about the IBM Quantum benefits here).

Around the midpoint of your project, we’ll check in with you for a progress update before sending the second half of your grant. Finally, we’ll do a follow-up phone call or email upon the completion of your project to hear how it went, and we’ll ask you to submit a short summary that can be posted online.

We’ll have a call with you and our advisors where we want to know:

• What have you built so far?
• What are you building next?
• What lessons have you learned so far?
• How can we help with what is coming next?

This helps us evaluate if the project is on-track to merit the second half of grant funding.

We expect this to happen sometimes because we fund risky, early stage projects. If all projects succeeded, then we wouldn’t be taking on sufficient risk. If this happens with your project, then the second half won’t be funded. Still, we’d encourage you to think about failure as a critical part of learning and exploration. Furthermore, we’ll be happy to look at future proposals from previous grantees who didn’t succeed in their first attempt. We know you’ll have learned from the experience.

There are no key dates! Applications are rolling until all grant money has been allocated.

Quantum technology is a nascent field, so we’re open-minded. Your project can be:

• contributing to an existing open source project
• creating a new framework or tool
• researching a new algorithm
• building a quantum hardware prototype
• running a new workshop or course
• applying an existing algorithm to a new problem
• relevant to quantum technology beyond quantum computing, including topics like quantum networks or sensors
• creating or curating a free dataset that others can use
• educating, explaining, or otherwise helping people learn new or existing techniques

…or anything else that you feel would accelerate the utility of quantum technology.

In some cases, particularly for projects involving hardware, we know that our grant likely won’t be enough for the whole project. We’re happy for our grant to supplement existing work, though we would like to see justification in your application for why the project could use our support.

Yes! In many cases, contributing to an existing project/package will help your work have a lot more impact. We have often recommended this approach to applicants.

We’re looking for smart people with interesting ideas that could be useful to the world. We pay extra attention to projects that seem like they won’t get funded another way.

In your application, we ask how you plan to use the funds. Each project is different and we encourage creative suggestions for how to best make use of the grants. Previous successful grants have used funds for:

• developer or researcher time
• hardware or software licenses
• publication or distribution costs
• hosting and computing resources
• contributions to open source tools used by the project
• travel expenses

Yes! Anyone can apply. You just need to make sure that you don’t conflict with any IP contract you’ve signed with your employer.

Yes. Multiple people can apply together as a team. Please fill out a single application and provide background information for each person on the team. You should designate a lead person to coordinate the application, as well as to receive and distribute the money.

Yes, you can apply as often as you like. You can win multiple times, and we will consider repeat funding to continue to grow a project to the next level.

Yes! Thank you for being awesome! If you want to contribute in any way, please email us at contribute@unitary.fund.

The money is a gift. It’s not an equity investment or loan, and we won’t own any of your intellectual property. Our only request is that you think about how to pay it forward to others.

We aim to get back to applicants within a month.

Yes. Applications are only reviewed by the Unitary Fund team and advisors. They are kept confidential.

This program is inspired by, and directly borrows from Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross and their AI Grant Program. Thanks, Nat and Daniel!

That program is inspired by, and directly borrows many elements from Nadia Eghbal and her no-strings-attached grant program. Thanks, Nadia!