What is the real per-recipient economic value?

USD 250,000 maximum. Award minimum: 250000. Dilution/equity: uncapped MFN SAFE.

Which jurisdictions and applicants are eligible?

Pre-seed/seed AI-native product startups; solo founders and applicants who have raised money may apply. A company is not required at application, but accepted startups must become Delaware corporations.

Technical, pragmatic founders; An actionable AI product with strong end-user utility; A working demo and evidence of rapid iteration

What burden or follow-on should I expect?

Investment documents and cohort participation, not grant reporting. The cash is explicitly an investment on an uncapped, no-discount MFN SAFE. Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross may separately invest $1m–$100m, but no follow-on is promised.

Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross Grants (AI Grant)

USD 250,000 maximum; see notes for structure · Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross

Accelerator-style non-dilutive + investment program for AI-native startups by Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross. $250k non-dilutive-style backing + compute credits historically. Current status: closed; Batch cohorts; Batch 4 applications are closed and no Batch 5 deadline is published. Award economics: USD 250,000 maximum; dilution/equity: uncapped MFN SAFE.

Tier 3aibatchcompute-credits

Apply Official site Open in the live directory

Key facts

Funder	Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross
Amount	USD 250,000 maximum; see notes for structure
Decision time	Competitive cohort selection; no current turnaround promise published.
Eligibility	Pre-seed/seed AI-native product startups; solo founders and applicants who have raised money may apply. A company is not required at application, but accepted startups must become Delaware corporations.
Restrictions	Investment documents and cohort participation, not grant reporting. The cash is explicitly an investment on an uncapped, no-discount MFN SAFE. Dilution/equity: uncapped MFN SAFE.
Status	closed

Always confirm on the official page before applying — dates and terms change.

Application process

Submit during an open batch
Show a useful AI-native product; demos are a strong plus
Cohort selection
Form a Delaware corporation if needed and sign SAFE
Attend San Francisco summit and investor Demo Day

Background

Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross operates Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross Grants (AI Grant). The official-source pass separates the currently actionable opportunity from historical cohorts and separates per-recipient value from headline program envelopes. Published alumni include Perplexity, Cursor, Replicate, Pika, Hume AI, RunPod, Browserbase and Goodfire.

How the application really works

Submit during an open batch → Show a useful AI-native product; demos are a strong plus → Cohort selection → Form a Delaware corporation if needed and sign SAFE → Attend San Francisco summit and investor Demo Day

Tips

Demonstrate: Technical, pragmatic founders
Demonstrate: An actionable AI product with strong end-user utility
Demonstrate: A working demo and evidence of rapid iteration

Watch out for

Current status is closed; do not use an archived form.
Dilution/equity treatment: uncapped MFN SAFE.
Investment documents and cohort participation, not grant reporting. The cash is explicitly an investment on an uncapped, no-discount MFN SAFE.

Track record

Published alumni include Perplexity, Cursor, Replicate, Pika, Hume AI, RunPod, Browserbase and Goodfire.

The site publishes four batch rosters but not applicant totals or an acceptance rate.

Frequently asked questions

Is this opportunity actionable now?: closed. Batch cohorts; Batch 4 applications are closed and no Batch 5 deadline is published.
What is the real per-recipient economic value?: USD 250,000 maximum. Award minimum: 250000. Dilution/equity: uncapped MFN SAFE.
Which jurisdictions and applicants are eligible?: Pre-seed/seed AI-native product startups; solo founders and applicants who have raised money may apply. A company is not required at application, but accepted startups must become Delaware corporations.
How does selection work?: Submit during an open batch; Show a useful AI-native product; demos are a strong plus; Cohort selection; Form a Delaware corporation if needed and sign SAFE; Attend San Francisco summit and investor Demo Day. Competitive cohort selection; no current turnaround promise published.
What appears to win?: Technical, pragmatic founders; An actionable AI product with strong end-user utility; A working demo and evidence of rapid iteration
What burden or follow-on should I expect?: Investment documents and cohort participation, not grant reporting. The cash is explicitly an investment on an uncapped, no-discount MFN SAFE. Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross may separately invest $1m–$100m, but no follow-on is promised.

Sources

aigrant.com — Official closed status, SAFE terms, eligibility, selection preferences, credits and portfolio (checked 2026-08-10)