--- url: 'https://qubit.capital/blog/government-grants-network-security' title: 'Government Grants for Cybersecurity: Three Programs Startups Can Win' author: name: Mayur Toshniwal url: 'https://qubit.capital/blog/author/mayur' date: '2025-12-31T07:31:00+05:30' modified: '2026-10-01T17:56:21+05:30' type: post categories: - Industry-Specific Insights image: 'https://qubit.capital/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/government-grants-network-security-banner.webp' published: true --- # Government Grants for Cybersecurity: Three Programs Startups Can Win Table of Contents - [Key Takeaways](#key-takeaways) - [SBIR Cybersecurity Funding: Up to $2.15 Million, No Equity](#sbir-cybersecurity-funding-up-to-$2-15-million-no-equity) - [EIC Accelerator: a Grant Plus Optional Equity in Europe](#eic-accelerator-a-grant-plus-optional-equity-in-europe) - [Cyber Runway: Free UK Support, Not a Cash Grant](#cyber-runway-free-uk-support-not-a-cash-grant) - [Where Government Grants for Cybersecurity Fit in a Raise](#where-government-grants-for-cybersecurity-fit-in-a-raise) - [Before You Apply](#before-you-apply) ## Key Takeaways - SBIR and STTR pay US small businesses up to $2,153,927 per Phase II award, with no equity taken. - The EIC Accelerator gives European startups a grant below €2.5 million, with optional equity on top. - Cyber Runway gives UK cyber startups free support and takes no equity, but it pays no cash. - The biggest US cyber grant, SLCGP, is open only to state agencies, not companies. Three government grants for cybersecurity are open to startups directly: SBIR and STTR, the EIC Accelerator, and the UK’s Cyber Runway. SBIR is American and the EIC is European, and both pay cash for research and development. Cyber Runway gives support without taking equity. Most results for this search describe the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) instead. A startup cannot apply: each state’s administrative agency is [the only eligible applicant](https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/360215). FY 2025 was also its final year of funding. Below are the cybersecurity grants for startups: what each pays, who qualifies, and what each asks in return. ## SBIR Cybersecurity Funding: Up to $2.15 Million, No Equity Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and its sister program, Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), fund research at US small businesses. As of April 2026, Phase I awards can reach $323,090 and Phase II awards [$2,153,927](https://www.sbir.gov/about). Larger awards need a waiver from the Small Business Administration. The money is equity-free and comes through 11 federal agencies, each with its own topics and deadlines. Search SBIR.gov for open SBIR cybersecurity topics before you write anything, because the agency’s topic sets the scope, not your product. Budget founder time for [the compliance work a grant requires](https://qubit.capital/blog/grant-compliance) before the first payment arrives. Timing matters too: both programs lapsed on September 30, 2025. Law firm Crowell & Moring reports they were reauthorized six months later, through September 30, 2031. The renewal added a Phase II “strategic breakthrough” award worth up to $30 million. ## EIC Accelerator: a Grant Plus Optional Equity in Europe The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator funds single start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, including spin-outs. The [grant is below €2.5 million](https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-accelerator_en) and pays for innovation work completed within 24 months. On top of the grant, the EIC can invest up to €10 million in equity. That part is dilutive, so treat it as an investment round with a public investor, not as grant money. Applicants must come from EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon Europe, the EU research program. The EIC says it exists to fund high-risk innovation until other investors can take over. A pitch built on low technical risk works against you. ## Cyber Runway: Free UK Support, Not a Cash Grant Cyber Runway is the UK accelerator for cybersecurity startups, funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and delivered by Plexal. Members keep [100% of their IP](https://www.plexal.com/our-work/cyber-runway/) and equity. It runs by stage: Launch for new founders, Grow for startups, Scale for scaleups and Ignite for founders building as leaders. The support is mentoring, workshops, engineering help and investor introductions rather than money. Intake runs in cohorts, and Plexal’s page says applications for the next one are closed. Check the next window before you build a plan around it. ## Where Government Grants for Cybersecurity Fit in a Raise Grant money pays for building, not for selling. SBIR and EIC grants are tied to a defined project, so they rarely cover sales hires or runway. Founders use them as [non-dilutive funding](https://qubit.capital/blog/non-dilutive-funding) alongside equity, not instead of it. The grant proves the technology works, and the equity round pays to take it to market. Each makes the other easier when [investors price a network security round](https://qubit.capital/blog/raising-capital-cloud-network-security). Sagar Agrawal, co-founder of [Qubit Capital](https://qubit.capital), puts the timing this way: > “Treat a grant as a milestone in your raise, not a replacement for it. Apply when the grant’s deliverable is the proof your next investor will ask for.” In practice, match what the grant pays for to the question your next investor will ask. A working prototype answers a seed investor. A pilot with a named security team answers a Series A lead. ## Before You Apply Each program tests something different. SBIR asks whether your research fits an agency’s topic, and the EIC asks whether it is too risky for private money alone. Cyber Runway asks whether you are ready to grow in the UK. Pick the one program whose question you can answer today, and plan the equity round that follows it. Qubit Capital’s [Fundraising Assistance](https://qubit.capital/startup-services/fundraising-assistance) helps cybersecurity founders raise that round. Get your grant application in while our team lines up the investors for what comes next.