Find & apply to student hardware grants to prototype without crowdfunding hassles.
Student entrepreneurs with manufacturing-heavy ideas face rejection from investors and lack of traditional funding, forcing reliance on crowdfunding while battling unaffordable prototype production costs.
GrantForge curates 500+ grants, competitions, and university funds for hardware students, with AI-matched applications and deadline trackers. Submit tailored proposals in minutes, track progress, and get acceptance boosters. Ditch investor no's—unlock non-dilutive funding fast.
Student entrepreneurs building hardware products with manufacturing requirements
AI proposal generator trained on winning student hardware apps, with .edu-verified exclusivity.
professional
Filterable database of student hardware funding opportunities.
Matches projects to grants based on specs.
Auto-fills applications with project data.
Calendar and reminders for apps.
Status updates and follow-ups.
Guides from past winners.
Store and reuse pitch materials.
New grant notifications.
Personal stats on applications.
Team application sharing.
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| text | No | |
| verified | bool | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| title | text | No |
| deadline | timestamp | Yes |
| amount | int | No |
| hardware_focus | bool | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| user_id | uuid | No |
| description | text | No |
| proto_needs | text | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| project_id | uuid | No |
| grant_id | uuid | No |
| status | text | No |
| proposal_text | text | Yes |
Relationships:
/api/grantsSearch grants
/api/matchGet grant matches
/api/proposalsGenerate proposal
/api/applications/:idUpdate app status
No AI proposals
Unlimited
| Month | Users | Conversion | MRR | ARR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 80 | 3% | $96 | $1,152 |
| Month 6 | 500 | 6% | $1,200 | $14,400 |
Curated opps + AI apps = funded prototypes, no equity lost.
Email entrepreneurship centers at 50 universities (e.g., Stanford d.school), post in r/grants, offer free Pro to first 10 applicants who share wins.
Large DB
General, expensive, no AI
$40 student focus + AI proposals
Curated student data moat + network of uni partnerships.
Explosion of STEM grants post-CHIPS Act, students need discovery tools.
Grant data staleness
User-submitted updates + weekly curation
Low win rates
Track and iterate AI on wins
Success: 60% applied <3 grants last year
Success: 10 proposals generated
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