Proposals are invited for the Amazon Research Awards (ARA) - Fall 2026 - unrestricted research gifts plus AWS promotional credits for faculty and NGO researchers working on Amazon-relevant science topics across nine open call areas.
Submissions opened 1 October 2026 and close 4 November 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Decision letters are expected around February 2027.
This Opportunity Station guide is original copy based on Amazon Science ARA pages. It is not a reprint of any third-party blog.
Quick Facts - Amazon Research Awards Fall 2026
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Programme | Amazon Research Awards (ARA) |
| Cycle | Fall 2026 |
| Open | 1 October 2026 |
| Deadline | 4 November 2026, 11:59 PM PT |
| Decisions | ~February 2027 |
| Funding | Unrestricted gift to institution + AWS promotional credits |
| IP | Amazon retains no IP rights to resulting work |
| Eligible | Full-time academic faculty; permanent NGO researchers (worldwide, accredited/legal status) |
| Apply | Amazon Academic Research Portal |
Fall 2026 Research Areas
- Agentic AI
- AI for Information Security
- Amazon Security
- Automated Reasoning
- AWS Cryptography
- Build on Trainium: Agentic, Recursive Improvement of Kernels and Frameworks
- Multilingual and Contextual AI Evaluation
- On-Device Multimodal Perception
- Synthetic Data Generation for Multimodal Perception
Benefits
- Unrestricted research funds structured as a gift to the PI’s academic institution or organization
- AWS promotional credits for cloud experimentation
- Assigned Amazon research contact for consultation and advice
- Training resources: AWS tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers
- Opportunities to join Amazon events; encouraged to publish and open-source related code
- Amazon retains no intellectual property rights to the resulting work
Eligibility
- Researchers worldwide whose institution holds official accreditation or legal status in its country
- Academic faculty: full-time faculty at an accredited academic institution
- NGO researchers: permanent researchers at NGOs with recognized legal status (equivalent to U.S. 501(c)(3))
- Proposals judged on scientific quality, creativity, and potential for impact at scale
How to Apply
- Review open calls on the ARA Call for Proposals page and the Fall 2026 announcement.
- Read the ARA FAQs before drafting.
- Sign up or log in to the Amazon Academic Research Portal and submit under the relevant Fall 2026 CFP.
- Submit by 4 November 2026, 11:59 PM Pacific Time.
Official Links
ARA Call for Proposals (official)
Apply - Academic Research Portal
ARA Frequently Asked Questions
Related Opportunities on Opportunity Station
- National AI Innovation Challenge 2027
- Stanford CISAC Fellowship 2027-2028
- Mila LAB AI Law & Ethics Research Awards 2026
- Browse all grants
FAQs - Amazon Research Awards Fall 2026
When is the deadline?
4 November 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.
What do recipients receive?
Unrestricted gift funding, AWS promotional credits, an Amazon research contact, and training/event opportunities. Amazon does not take IP in the resulting work.
Who can apply?
Full-time faculty at accredited institutions and permanent NGO researchers with recognized legal status, worldwide.
Where do I apply?
Via the Amazon Academic Research Portal.
