The Research Grant Amazon Research Awards AI for Information Security 2026 invites faculty members and permanent NGO researchers worldwide to submit proposals addressing AI-driven challenges in information security. Administered by Amazon, this grant provides unrestricted funds averaging up to $80,000 USD alongside AWS Promotional Credits averaging up to $40,000 USD. Eligible applicants must hold full-time academic or permanent NGO researcher status. The proposal submission deadline is 6 May 2026.
Program Highlights
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Opportunity Type | Research Grant |
| Organising Body | Amazon (Amazon Research Awards Program) |
| Mode | Online |
| Duration | One-Time Award (Project-Based) |
| Location / Platform | Global — Online Submission |
| Last Date to Apply | 6 May 2026 |
About the Program
Amazon Research Awards (ARA) represents Amazon’s structured academic funding initiative, designed to build sustained collaboration between the global research community and Amazon’s science and engineering teams. Through targeted calls for proposals, ARA directs resources toward areas where foundational academic inquiry can meaningfully advance real-world technology. The AI for Information Security call specifically reflects Amazon’s strategic commitment to solving the most complex and evolving challenges in cybersecurity at scale.
The program operates under Amazon’s broader research philosophy — funding work that pushes the frontier of what AI can achieve in high-stakes environments. Notably, awardees gain access not only to financial resources but also to Amazon’s internal scientific expertise, making this grant particularly significant for researchers seeking industry-connected academic impact.
Furthermore, this Research Grant Amazon Research Awards AI for Information Security 2026 is structured as an unrestricted gift, meaning recipients retain full academic freedom over their research direction and publication rights. This structure distinguishes it from contract-based corporate funding and makes it especially attractive for faculty pursuing independent, peer-reviewed scholarship in AI and security.
Eligibility Criteria
Academic Qualification
- Must be a full-time faculty member at an accredited academic institution, OR a permanent researcher at a non-governmental organization with legally recognized status (equivalent to U.S. 501(c)(3) status)
- No specific degree field restriction stated — the research must address AI applications within information security topics
- Open to eligible applicants globally; no nationality restriction stated
Experience & Other Conditions
- The Principal Investigator (PI) must be at or above the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of application
- Each PI is permitted to submit only one proposal per call for proposal period
- The proposed budget must itemise expected costs in USD and must not include administrative overhead costs
Benefits & Funding
Selected Principal Investigators receive a competitive, structured award package designed to support both research execution and technical infrastructure.
| Component | Amount / Detail |
|---|---|
| Unrestricted Research Funds | Up to $80,000 USD (average) |
| AWS Promotional Credits | Up to $40,000 USD (average) |
| Training Resources | AWS tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers |
| Award Structure | One-time unrestricted gift |
Awards are determined by the Amazon awards panel based on the submitted budget and proposal quality. The final disbursement amount may vary from the stated averages depending on panel evaluation.
Topics / Themes Covered
Amazon invites proposals addressing AI research within the following information security domains:
- Trustworthy and reliable agentic AI for security operations, including evaluation methodologies for AI agents in security use cases
- AI agent access governance: policy verification, guardrails, and conditionally scoped authentication and authorization
- Threat, intrusion, and anomaly detection in agentic AI systems and cloud environments
- AI-powered incident response and red-teaming
- Vulnerability detection and remediation using agentic AI
- Building and optimising foundation models through pre-training, post-training, fine-tuning, and related techniques to improve security task performance
- Security of agentic AI systems — including securing toolchains, frameworks, and addressing confused deputy problems in delegated agent behaviours
- Securing generative AI and foundation models — training data content security, anonymisation, semantic differential privacy, and preventing data leakage from trained models
- Reinforcement learning for information security
- Scalable and efficient graph modelling and anomaly detection on graphs
- Learning with limited or noisy labels and weakly supervised learning
- AI for malware analysis and detection, with a focus on cloud environments or devices
- AI-assisted secure code generation and security enhancement of existing codebases
- Generative AI for cloud infrastructure compliance
Selection Process
- Proposal submission reviewed by the Amazon Research Awards panel
- Budget evaluation for cost justification (USD-denominated; no overhead costs permitted)
- Final award amount determined by the awards panel based on proposal merit and budget assessment
How to Apply
- Review the full list of eligible research topics and confirm your proposed work aligns with at least one stated information security theme.
- Confirm your eligibility as a full-time faculty member or permanent NGO researcher with recognised legal status.
- Prepare a detailed research proposal including a line-item budget in USD — note that administrative overhead costs must not be included.
- Ensure only one proposal is submitted per Principal Investigator for this call period.
- Submit your proposal through the official Amazon ARA online submission portal.
- Visit the official Amazon AI for Information Security Call for Proposals page for the submission link and any updated guidelines.
No application fee is applicable for this grant.
Important Dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Notification Release Date | 7 April 2026 |
| Application Start Date | 7 April 2026 (ongoing) |
| Last Date to Apply | 6 May 2026 |
Important Links
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Apply Online | Click Here |
| Official Website | Amazon Research Awards |
Contact
For programme-specific enquiries, refer to the official Amazon Research Awards portal. Contact details for the ARA programme team are not explicitly stated in the notification — applicants should use the official website’s contact or helpdesk section for support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies as a Principal Investigator for the Research Grant Amazon Research Awards AI for Information Security 2026? A Principal Investigator must be either a full-time faculty member at an accredited academic institution or a permanent researcher at an NGO with legally recognised status equivalent to U.S. 501(c)(3) standing. Additionally, the PI must be at or above the age of majority in their jurisdiction at the time of application.
What is the maximum funding available under this research grant? Selected PIs may receive unrestricted research funds averaging up to $80,000 USD and AWS Promotional Credits averaging up to $40,000 USD. Consequently, the total support package can reach up to $120,000 USD in combined value, though the final award is determined by the Amazon awards panel.
Can a researcher submit more than one proposal to the Amazon Research Awards AI for Information Security 2026? No. Each Principal Investigator is permitted to submit only one proposal per call for proposal period. Submitting multiple proposals under the same PI disqualifies the applicant.
Are there any restrictions on how the awarded funds can be used? The funds are structured as unrestricted gifts, granting recipients full flexibility in directing expenditure toward research objectives. However, the submitted budget must list all expected costs in USD and must not include administrative overhead costs.
What is the deadline to submit a proposal, and how should the application be submitted? The deadline for submission is 6 May 2026. Proposals must be submitted through the official Amazon Research Awards online portal. Notably, the Research Grant Amazon Research Awards AI for Information Security 2026 requires online submission only — no physical or email-based applications are accepted.