Prototype Fund

With the Prototype Fund, we support socially relevant software projects and increase their sustainable impact through open source by principle. In short: We fund open source software made by society and for society. We make digital social innovation possible with developers who bring a wide range of skills to technology design and are given the space to develop their good ideas. You will receive funding of up to €95,000 over six months or €158,000 over ten months for your project and team. The fund supports software developers, hackers, and creative minds in turning sketches for tools and applications into reality. The Prototype Fund has redefinied its funding priorities since 2025 and now focuses on the areas of data security and software infrastructure.

In addition to financial support, we offer coaching and exchange with our extensive and diverse network of coders, other practitioners, and potential users on the way to prototyping. Teams based in other EU countries can now also apply for funding—the only important requirement is that the (to be founded) GbR is based in Germany.

The application process is kept as unbureaucratic as possible and tailored to the needs of target groups that are not used to receiving funding. Since 2016, we have already been able to spend approximately €16.6 million on almost 400 projects (as of January 2025). The program will run until 2029.