Tech Company Academic Research Awards
A Guide for CU Boulder Researchers
Large technology companies regularly offer research awards, fellowships, and gift grants to universities in the form of an award program. These awards can be excellent sources of funding — often free of deliverable obligations, and supportive of academic freedom. However, they often come with unique structures, terms, and processes that differ significantly from federal grants and industry sponsored research.
Although not listed specifically here, other large companies outside of ”large tech” may also offer similar programs, and terms tend to be similar.
These large technology awards are:
- Highly competitive because they’re open to all academic institutions that qualify.
- Typically not influenced by the depth of relationship between a researcher and the company, as the awards are usually managed and administered by an entity separate from the company’s research and development and business units.
- Just one way that researchers can receive funding from a particular company. Most companies tend to have other department budgets available to support other research opportunities.
- Often not negotiable with award terms and conditions accepted at the proposal submission rather than award receipt.
This guide is designed to help CU Boulder faculty understand the major tech company award programs, including:
- what they fund;
- how much they offer;
- deadlines;
- and what special terms and conditions you may encounter
CU Boulder's Industry Research Partnerships (IRP), the Program Management Office (PMO) and the Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) are here to support faculty through the submission of a proposal/offer and award review and acceptance.
Tech companies often call their awards "unrestricted gifts." However, they typically come with restrictions and non-standard IP, publication, and indirect cost terms as well as requirements that CU Boulder indemnify and agree to governing law outside of Colorado, requiring careful review and analysis before acceptance. Like other externally funded agreements, OCG must review and sign tech company awards on behalf of the university. Faculty cannot execute these agreements independently. Connect with your OCG Proposal Analyst early in the proposal process to initiate a Proposal Submission Request (PSR) form and begin coordinating on the submission of a proposal/offer. OCG will work with you to ensure understanding of key terms, implications to your project, and compliance with sponsor and CU policies.
Special Terms & Conditions: What to Watch For
Tech company awards regularly include terms that differ from federal grants and that require special institutional processes at CU Boulder. The following are the most common categories of concern. These terms are managed and negotiated by OCG and included in OCG Contract Key Terms.
OCG Proposal Analysts will interpret language within funding opportunities to determine the appropriateness of indirect costs, also called overhead and Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs. Any language that may indicate a limitation or restriction on indirect costs will be evaluated to determine the applicable required approvals. Proposed budgets should assume full indirect per CU’s established rates until an indirect addendum or waiver has been fully approved by the appropriate officials.
The classification of an award as a "gift" versus a "sponsored research agreement" determines which university systems and compliance requirements apply. A gift is defined as any item of value given to the University of Colorado Boulder by a donor who expects nothing of significant value in return (see more information on gifts here). Sponsors of tech awards may categorize their awards as “unrestricted gifts”; however, if the award requires use of a specific platform, mandates open-sourcing of results, or establishes ongoing reporting obligations, the award is unlikely to be a true gift and will be handled by OCG as a sponsored project. Misclassification can create accounting, compliance, and audit problems.
Most tech company awards structured as unrestricted gifts retain no IP rights for the company. IP generated under these awards follows CU's standard policy, meaning the university and faculty inventor share in any commercialization proceeds from licensing IP generated under these awards per CU's technology transfer policies. However, if an award requires use of a company’s proprietary platform or tool, or if a separate sponsored research agreement is negotiated alongside the gift, IP terms can become more complex. For example, Google's GARA program notes that for award types involving its proprietary tools or constraints, open-sourcing may be a mandatory condition of receiving such funding.
Most tech company awards support open academic publication and do not impose pre-publication review rights. However, several programs include expectations that may be viewed by the University as publication restrictions including the requirement for CU to receive an approval or other type of permission in order to be able to publish..
Some awards — particularly cloud credit programs from AWS and Google — are contingent on using the company's cloud platform. These come bundled with the company's terms of service, which may include data use policies, export controls, restrictions on competing services, indemnification requirements, and governing law outside of the state of Colorado. These embedded terms may conflict with CU policies or requirements under other awards and may require waivers. OCG should review any platform-specific terms of service before you begin using university accounts for such work.
Microsoft's Faculty Fellowship programs include explicit clauses requiring recipients to remain active, full-time faculty for the duration of the award. If a recipient leaves their faculty position, Microsoft retains discretion over how remaining funds are used or returned. Review these clauses with OCG if there is any possibility of a leave of absence, sabbatical, or change in employment status during the award period.
How to Get Started
- Contact your assigned Proposal Analyst. They will provide further guidance on required proposal documents, budget requirements, and submission procedures. Information about the proposal process can also be found on OCG’s webpage, Proposal Preparation & Submission.
- PIs must initiate and submit a Proposal Submission Request (PSR) so proposal development and coordination on applicable waivers can begin. This should be done at least 5 business days prior to submission; earlier coordination is sometimes necessary for internal reviews and approvals required for certain Industry Proposals.
- Questions? Any questions regarding the Award Program's terms and conditions, facilitation of internal waivers, and what constitutes CU confidential Information should be directed to OCG. When there are terms and conditions to be addressed, OCG may assign a single Contract Officer to support each of these programs due to their complexity and to maintain consistency in how they are handled.
Award Programs by Company
The following profiles cover the primary research award programs offered by major technology companies. Note that program details, amounts, and cycles change frequently — always verify current terms on the company’s website and with OCG.
Amazon Research Awards (ARA) | Amazon Science / AWS
Funds faculty research in areas relevant to Amazon's mission: machine learning, NLP, robotics, security, sustainability, fairness in AI, computer vision, and more.
Typical award: Varies by call; $50,000–$100,000+ in cash and/or AWS Promotional Credits plus assigned dedicated Amazon research contact for consultation and access to Amazon training resources.
Timing: Spring and fall calls for proposals; decisions communicated within approximately 4–6 months of the close date
Award type: Funding up to $100,000 and/or AWS Promotional Credits
Special consideration: PI must be a full-time faculty member. Indirect cost requirements are nuanced, and an IDC waiver may be required. Indemnification and governing law waivers will be required.
AWS Cloud Credit for Research | Amazon Web Services
Provides AWS Promotional Credits (not funding) for faculty and staff awards, and funds for student awards to support cloud-based research. It is particularly suited for researchers who need cloud computing resources for proof-of-concept work or building publicly available research tools.
Typical award: Faculty and staff awards are uncapped AWS Promotional Credits; student awards are capped at $5,000
Timing: Rolling applications accepted year-round; typical review cycle is 30–60 days
Award type: AWS Promotional Credits only for faculty and staff awards; funding up to $5,000 for student awards
Special consideration: Cloud credits may carry a fair market value (FMV) that triggers tax reporting obligations for the university. Receipt of cloud credits is not tracked in InfoEd or the SpeedType.
Google Academic Research Awards (GARA) | Google Research
Supports foundational and applied computing and technology research. Each cycle targets specific focus areas (e.g., AI for safety, privacy and education). Faculty at degree-granting institutions who are advising students are eligible. Recipients are paired with a Google research sponsor who provides mentorship and a connection to Google's research community.
Typical award: Up to $100,000, with an intended coverage of about one year of work
Timing: Annual cycles; RFPs typically open mid-year; decisions within approximately 3 months of close. For the 2026 cycle, applications open on June 26, 2026, and are due August 7, 2026.
Award type: Funding up to $100,000 with no formal deliverables
Special consideration: Google explicitly prohibits use of award funds for overhead or indirect costs, and an IDC waiver will be required.
Google Research Scholar Program
Update June 2026: this program is now shifting to support beyond “just traditional academic institutions to including enabling organizations and collaboration networks such as Google.org’s AI Challenge”. Details of how this program will shift are not yet clear.
Supports early-career faculty (within approximately 7 years of receiving a PhD) pursuing research relevant to Google's interests. The program targets faculty who are in the early stages of building a research program and have not yet received significant industry funding.
Typical award: Funding up to $60,000 (one academic year)
Timing: Annual; nominations and applications typically due in spring; awards announced later that year
Award type: Funding up to $60,000 with no formal deliverables
Special consideration: For early-career faculty only. Limited institutional nominations may apply. Google prohibits use of these funds for overhead or indirect costs, as with GARA.
Meta Research Awards | Meta / Meta AI
Update June 2026: the last round of these awards was 2023 and program future is unclear.
Supports open academic research aligned with Meta's research mission areas: AI, machine learning, privacy, security, integrity, augmented and virtual reality, and social impact. Awards are structured as unrestricted gifts. Meta retains no intellectual property rights to the resulting work. Recipients are strongly encouraged to publish results openly and contribute related code to open-source repositories.
Typical award: Typically $50,000–$100,000 (varies by RFP and research area)
Timing: Multiple RFP cycles issued per year across different research areas; check research.facebook.com for current open calls
Award type: Funding up to $100,000 with no formal deliverables
Special consideration: Specific indirect cost and publication terms vary by individual RFP. Always review the particular call's terms carefully with OCG before submitting a proposal. Do not assume terms are consistent across different Meta RFPs.
Microsoft Research Fellowship | Microsoft Research
Supports faculty, PhD students, and postdoctoral researchers in collaborative, open research aligned with Microsoft Research's interests. Faculty proposals must include a named student collaborator — both the faculty member and student are named Fellows if selected. The program covers a broad range of disciplines and research challenges, including AI, systems, privacy, and human-computer interaction.
Typical award: Up to approximately $47,000 (varies by region and research challenge)
Timing: Annual; proposals typically due in December; awards announced in spring
Award type: Fellowship / gift disbursed to institution
Special consideration: Proposals must not contain confidential, restricted, or sensitive information, as Microsoft may publish information about awarded projects.
Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship | Microsoft Research
Recognizes early-career faculty who are emerging leaders in computing research. This is a competitive, nomination-based award. Nominees must have received their terminal degree (PhD) in or after approximately 2016 and must be full-time faculty at the time of nomination and throughout the award period. Azure cloud use is expected as part of the research.
Typical award: $100,000 per year, for two years
Timing: Nomination-based; cycles vary — check the Microsoft Research website for current openings
Award type: Fellowship / gift disbursed to institution; nomination required
Special consideration: Maximum of three nominations per university. Faculty must remain active, full-time faculty throughout both years or forfeit remaining funds. Microsoft has discretion over use of remaining funds if the recipient leaves their faculty position.
NVIDIA Academic Grant Program | NVIDIA
Advances academic research by providing computing access and resources to researchers in the form of NVIDIA cloud, hardware, and/or software grants for research.
Typical award: GPU credits only
Timing: Quarterly
Award type: GPU credits toward use of NVIDIA platform
Special consideration: Indemnification and governing law waivers required.
Sony Research Award Program | Sony Group
The Sony Research Award Program provides funding for cutting-edge academic research and helps build a collaborative relationship between faculty and Sony researchers. With awards up to $150,000 USD* per year for each accepted proposal, both the Faculty Innovation Award and Focused Research Award create new opportunities for university faculties and research institutions to engage in pioneering research that could drive new technologies, industries and the future.
Typical award: Up to $150,000 USD per year