Amazon AI for Information Security Research Awards: Spring 2026 Call for Proposals

Amazon Research Awards opens its AI for Information Security Call for Proposals for Spring 2026. Researchers tackling tough security challenges with AI now have a chance to get funding. The deadline is May 6, 2026, so teams should start preparing soon.

Program Overview

Amazon wants to push forward solutions for key problems in information security. This call focuses on using AI in smart ways to protect systems and data. They will fund projects that explore new ideas in this fast-growing field.

The program supports work on agentic AI, which means AI systems that act on their own in security tasks. Amazon picks projects based on their potential impact. Selected teams get resources to test and build their ideas.

Key Research Topics

Amazon lists specific areas for proposals. Here are the main ones:

Trustworthy AI agents for security operations, including ways to test them in real scenarios.
Rules for AI agent access, like checking policies and setting safe limits on permissions.
Spotting threats, break-ins, or odd behavior in AI systems and cloud setups.
Using AI for quick incident response and testing attacks through red-teaming.
Finding and fixing vulnerabilities with AI agents.
Improving base AI models for security tasks via training methods like fine-tuning.
Protecting AI agent systems, such as securing tools and handling risks from delegated actions.
Safeguarding generative AI and base models, including clean training data and privacy tools.
Reinforcement learning applied to security problems.
Graph-based modeling for spotting anomalies on a large scale.
Machine learning with limited or noisy data, or weak supervision.
AI tools for analyzing and detecting malware, especially in clouds or devices.
AI help for writing secure code or improving old code.
Generative AI to check cloud setups for compliance rules.

Proposals should fit one or more of these topics. Amazon encourages fresh approaches that solve real-world issues.

Grant Details

Winning principal investigators receive solid support. The main grant is up to $80,000 USD in unrestricted funds. This covers direct costs listed in the budget, with no overhead allowed.

Teams also get up to $40,000 in AWS promotional credits for cloud computing. Plus, access to training like AWS tutorials and sessions with Amazon experts. Awards come as one-time gifts, and the final amount depends on the review panel.

Budgets must use USD and detail expected expenses clearly.

Who Can Apply

Principal investigators need to meet these rules:

Full-time faculty at an accredited university, or a permanent researcher at a qualified non-profit organization (like a 501(c)(3) in the US).
At least the age of majority in their home area.
Only one proposal per person per call cycle.

This setup aims to back strong academic and research talent worldwide.

Application Process

Submit proposals through Amazon’s portal at home.academic-research-portal.amazon.science/login. Include a clear budget and project plan.

For full details, check the official page: Amazon AI for Information Security Call for Proposals.

Act fast to meet the May 6, 2026 deadline and shape the future of secure AI.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for the Amazon AI for Information Security proposals?

The deadline is May 6, 2026, so start preparing your team soon.

Who can apply as a principal investigator?

Full-time faculty at accredited universities or permanent researchers at qualified non-profits, who are at least the age of majority in their area.

What funding and benefits do winners receive?

Up to $80,000 USD in unrestricted funds, plus up to $40,000 in AWS promotional credits and access to training and experts.

What are the main research topics for proposals?

Key areas include trustworthy AI agents, threat detection, vulnerability fixing, secure code writing, and protecting AI systems.