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Sui grants in 2026: what the Sui Foundation funds now

Updated 6 min readBy the web3grant editors

The Sui Foundation no longer runs open Sui grants for developers. As of October 2026, its old Grants Hub, developer grants and RFP pages redirect to a Programs & funding page that says the Foundation offers founders long-term support, "not grants". Two routes still pay: the $25,000 Sui Ecosystem Academic Research Award and the Walrus Foundation's grants and RFPs.

Key takeaways

  • By January 2025 the Sui Grants Hub reported $6.7 million distributed to 126 projects. Its pages now redirect to the Foundation's Programs & funding page.
  • The last Sui Foundation RFP window we found, for SuiNS, ran from February 24 to March 17, 2025.
  • The Sui Ecosystem Academic Research Award pays a fixed $25,000 to the researcher's university and takes applications at any time.
  • The Hydropower Fellowship is equity-free but pays no grants, and teams building core primitives can seek direct strategic investment.
  • For builders, the open route on Sui is Walrus Grants and RFPs, milestone-based funding from the Walrus Foundation for apps and tools on Walrus storage.

Does the Sui Foundation still give grants?

Not to developers. When we checked on October 1, 2026, the old Grants Hub, developer grants and RFP URLs all redirected to the Foundation's Programs & funding page. That page says the Foundation now connects founders with long-term support, not grants.

The one Sui Foundation grant still open is for academics: the Sui Ecosystem Academic Research Award. Everything else the page offers is support or investment rather than a grant. Our research ledger marks the developer grants program as discontinued, one of 123 programs we checked in October 2026 that are not in our directory.

What happened to the Sui Grants Hub and RFPs?

The Sui Foundation used to fund builders in two ways: through a Grants Hub that accepted applications, and through topic-specific requests for proposals (RFPs). An RFP is a published request for a defined piece of work, with its own window and deliverables; our guide to Web3 RFP grants explains how they differ from open grants.

Recent examples include the DeepBook RFP in December 2024 and the SuiNS RFP, which ran from February 24 to March 17, 2025. RFP grants used agreements with milestones and deliverables. By January 2025 the Grants Hub reported $6.7 million distributed to 126 projects, and blog posts announced batches such as "$230K in developer grants awarded to 8 teams".

The Sui Foundation never published a per-grant range on its official pages. Third-party sites quote $10,000 to $100,000, but we found no official source for that figure.

We found no announcement that the program had ended. The status comes from the redirects and the "not grants" wording on the official page. The Grants Hub last loaded normally in a January 2025 web archive snapshot.

Claims you may see that we could not verify

  • A "$50M Sui grant initiative". A February 2026 news report described one, but the article now returns a 404, and the official February 2026 Sui Monthly does not mention it.
  • DeFi Moonshots. Announced in February 2026 with up to $500,000 in incentives, its page now redirects to the Sui homepage, so its status is unclear.

Treat any listing built on these as unconfirmed until it appears on sui.io.

Sui research grants: the Academic Research Award

The Sui Ecosystem Academic Research Award is a fixed $25,000 grant for university researchers, paid to the researcher's university. The Sui Foundation runs it with the Walrus Foundation, and you can apply at any time.

Because the money goes to the institution, involve your university's research office early. The award's terms and application are on the Sui academic research awards page. For funding beyond Sui, see our guide to blockchain research grants for academics.

What Sui Foundation support isn't a grant?

The Programs & funding page points builders to two routes, and neither pays a grant:

  • The Hydropower Fellowship, a Sui accelerator. It is equity-free, so the Foundation takes no stake in your company, but it does not pay grants.
  • Direct strategic investment for teams building core primitives on Sui. An investment is not a grant; read the terms before you agree to anything.

If you are deciding between an accelerator, an investment and a grant, our guide to Web3 grants vs venture capital sets out the trade-offs.

Walrus grants and RFPs for builders on Sui

Walrus is a decentralized storage and data availability network built on Sui, and the Walrus Foundation funds builders working on verifiable data. It is the open grant route on Sui in our directory:

Walrus funds work in two ways:

  • RFPs are open to any individual, team or organization. Review starts about two weeks after an RFP opens, shortlisted proposals go to a committee vote, and usually one proposal is chosen per RFP. The winner signs an agreement with a budget paid against milestones.
  • Ecosystem grants are not a form-based process. They go to teams the Foundation has got to know through Discord, events and referrals, and fund small, well-scoped deliverables or MVP-level experiments measured by KPIs such as developer usage, integrations and real storage activity on Walrus.

Funded projects include CrowdWalrus, a crowdfunding app; Inkray, a creator publishing platform; and Walgo, a static site builder. Walrus publishes no grant amounts, budget or payout currency, and we estimate about 4 weeks to a decision. If you have no contact on the Walrus team yet, an open RFP is the realistic way in.

Other options for Sui developers

Walrus is the only Sui program in our directory, so beyond it the options are other chains and multichain programs:

Browse the full grant directory for more, and read how to apply for Web3 grants before you submit.

FAQ

Is the Sui Grants Hub still open?

No. When web3grant checked on October 1, 2026, the Sui Grants Hub, developer grants and RFP pages all redirected to the Sui Foundation's Programs & funding page, which says the Foundation offers long-term support for founders, not grants. The last Sui Foundation RFP window we found, for SuiNS, closed on March 17, 2025.

How much does the Sui academic research award pay?

The Sui Ecosystem Academic Research Award pays a fixed $25,000, and the money goes to the researcher's university rather than to the researcher directly. The Sui Foundation runs the award with the Walrus Foundation, and university researchers can apply at any time. As of October 2026 it is the only Sui Foundation grant still open.

Did the Sui Foundation announce a $50 million grant program?

We could not verify one. A February 2026 news report described a "$50M Sui grant initiative", but the article now returns a 404, and the official February 2026 Sui Monthly newsletter does not mention it. As of October 2026, the Sui Foundation's own Programs & funding page says it offers long-term support for founders, not grants.

Does the Hydropower Fellowship pay grants?

No. The Hydropower Fellowship, the Sui accelerator that the Sui Foundation's Programs & funding page points founders to, is equity-free but does not pay grants. Teams building core primitives on Sui can instead seek direct strategic investment from the Foundation, which is an investment rather than a grant and comes with its own terms.

How do I apply for Walrus grants?

Walrus grants work two ways. Walrus RFPs are open to anyone through an application form, and usually one proposal wins each RFP, with payment against milestones. Walrus ecosystem grants have no open form: they go to builders the Walrus Foundation already knows through Discord, events or a referral. Both are listed on the Walrus Foundation's RFP page.

Programs in this guide

Where each one stands today, soonest deadline first.

Related guides

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