About this opportunity
Amazon describes itself as the steward of cryptography engineering inside the company, setting how those technologies are used and implemented across its services. The Fall 2026 Amazon Research Awards call in cryptography asks research groups to propose work in three bands: primitives and protocols, implementation and verification with open source, and theory with novel applications.
Under primitives and protocols the call seeks formal proof of security properties for cryptographic primitives, practical optimisation of cryptographic transport protocols, cryptanalysis of standard algorithms and protocols, wide-block ciphers and new efficient symmetric encryption modes built on existing primitives, MPC-friendly symmetric primitives, and novel constructions using quantum-resistant primitives, including threshold signatures and oblivious pseudo-random functions.
The implementation band covers formal static verification of open-source cryptographic software, including freedom from side-channel attacks, verified optimisation of cryptographic code for 64-bit x86, Armv8.x and Armv9.x instruction sets and their micro-architectures, hardware acceleration of fully homomorphic encryption and secure multi-party computation libraries, verification of randomised algorithms, and the formalisation of cryptographic primitives and their proofs in Lean CSLib. On the theory side Amazon wants fundamental research on whether a cryptographically relevant quantum computer is feasible, better practical FHE bootstrapping for cloud environments, compilers and development tools for FHE and MPC, a production-quality math library for FHE, and pseudo-random correlation generators.
A Principal Investigator must be a full-time faculty member at an accredited academic institution, or a permanent researcher at a non-governmental organisation with recognised legal status in its country. The programme rules exclude paid employees of government entities other than accredited academic institutions, anyone under United States export controls or sanctions, and anyone who worked for Amazon as a director, officer, employee, intern or contractor in the twelve months before submission. Awards are one-time unrestricted gifts paid to your institution, and the programme is void in Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea and the Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine.
What you receive
- Unrestricted research funds of up to 80,000 USD, paid to your institution as a one-time gift
- AWS Promotional Credits of up to 40,000 USD
- Training resources, including AWS tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers
- A route into the cryptography roadmap of a cloud provider that positions itself as the steward of the field internally
- Recognition as an Amazon Research Awards recipient, with the option to acknowledge the support in publications
Who can apply
- You are a full-time faculty member at an accredited academic institution, or a permanent researcher at a non-governmental organisation with recognised legal status in its country
- You are not a paid employee of a government entity, other than an accredited academic institution
- You are not under United States export controls or sanctions
- You have not been a director, officer, employee, intern or contractor of Amazon within the twelve months before submission
- You are not a member of the immediate family or household of someone who fails that Amazon test
- You have not participated in, or held decision-making authority over, cloud infrastructure procurements involving Amazon
Who should not apply
- Amazon employees, including employees of Amazon Web Services, cannot receive an award
- Proposals from anyone in Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea or the Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine, where the programme is void
- Proposals that include confidential information or any part marked as confidential
- Budgets that carry administrative overhead costs
Documents to prepare
- A proposal of a maximum of four pages, prepared on the Amazon Research Awards proposal template and excluding appendices
- Answers to the questions the call lists, including current applications of your work and its potential value to Amazon
- Details of any tool your work depends on, including its licence, tutorial material, recent commit activity and active contributors
- A budget of expected costs stated in USD
How to apply
- Read the AWS Cryptography call for proposals on the Amazon Science site and place your work in one of the three listed bands
- Check the Amazon Research Awards rules page, since the call defers every applicant test to it
- Write your proposal on the Amazon Research Awards template, keeping the body to four pages and the budget in USD without overhead
- Sign up or log in to the Amazon academic research portal and submit before 4 November 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time
Selection process
- Funding decisions weigh potential impact on Amazon and on the development of the scientific community in cryptography
- Amazon states that building that community includes increasing the number of students working on cryptography at undergraduate and graduate level
- Decision letters go out in February 2027
Sources and verification
Related opportunities
- Amazon Research Awards Automated Reasoning Grant 2026, Up To 80,000 USD In Unrestricted Funds Plus AWS Credits For University And NGO Researchers
Amazon Science is accepting research proposals in automated reasoning, the use of mathematical logic to prove that critical computer systems behave as intended. A selected Principal Investigator receives unrestricted funds of no more than 80,000 USD, up to a further 40,000 USD in AWS Promotional Credits and hands-on training with Amazon scientists. The call is open to full-time faculty at accredited universities and to permanent researchers at qualifying non-governmental organisations anywhere in the world, and submissions close on 4 November 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.
Questions applicants ask
Can a cryptography researcher outside the United States apply?
Yes. The rules require only that the Principal Investigator be full-time faculty at an accredited academic institution, or a permanent researcher at a non-governmental organisation with recognised legal status in its country. The programme is void in a short list of sanctioned places.
Does the award have to be spent on a defined project?
No. Amazon Research Awards are structured as one-time unrestricted gifts paid to the institution of the Principal Investigator, and may not be used for indirect expenses that are not allocable, reasonable and documented.
What can the money be used for?
The cash component is an unrestricted gift to your institution. Your budget should list expected costs in USD and should not include administrative overhead.
When does the call close?
The submission period runs from 1 October to 4 November 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time, with decision letters in February 2027.
Important disclaimer
Nextali researches and curates useful opportunities to make discovery easier. Before applying, verify every timeline, requirement, fee and application link on the official provider website. Do your own research into the organisation, its background and the authenticity of the offer. Nextali does not guarantee selection, funding or the conduct of third party providers.
