Restack Fund
NLnet’s Restack fund supports the development, maturity and adoption of openly available technology across the internet stack. It seeks practical building blocks for digital autonomy, long-term infrastructure availability and systems that users can operate without dependence on closed services.
Key Details
- First call opens: 2026-09-03.
- Application deadline: 2026-11-03 at 12:00 CET, noon.
Funding or Award
- The program plans to award €7M through 2030 in small and medium-sized research and development grants.
- Initial proposals should request €5K – €50K. Funding may scale substantially where the project demonstrates sufficient potential.
What You Get
- Practical assistance can include accessibility assessments, security audits and reproducible packaging.
- Additional help can address copyright compliance, governance and standardization.
Focus Areas
- Open hardware and software across the stack, from freely usable chips and middleware to productivity tools, local-first infrastructure and the applications that access networked services.
- Improvements to core internet infrastructure and alternatives to closed online technologies used by large populations.
- Secure, privacy-conscious devices used to operate or access these technologies.
- Security across the stack, software supply-chain management, reproducibility and technologies that increase trust.
- Better separation of infrastructure layers, service management, deployment methods, services and their client applications.
- Norms and standards that improve interoperability, support multiple implementations and reduce future failure or compromise.
- Both new ideas and the improvement or scaling of existing technologies are welcome when they can deliver practical results.
Eligibility
- Proposals must make a concrete contribution to Restack’s goal of a dependable Open Internet Stack.
- AI-related projects are outside scope unless they already serve more than one million active human users and are directly relevant to the stack. General AI development, application or integration is outside the program’s central focus.
Application Process
- Review the applicant guidance, eligibility clauses and FAQ linked from the Restack program page.
- Submit the proposal through NLnet’s submission form.
Rules and Conditions
- Project results must be made available under a recognized free or open-source license.