Amazon Research Awards, part of Amazon Science, is accepting proposals for its Automated Reasoning call for Fall 2026 until 4 November 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. A principal investigator may receive up to US$80,000 in unrestricted funding and up to US$40,000 in AWS credits. The call suits researchers working on mathematical proof of system correctness who want funding for their research.
At a glance
| Deadline | 4 November 2026, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time |
| Application window | 1 October to 4 November 2026 |
| Funding | Up to US$80,000 (a one-time unrestricted gift) and up to US$40,000 in AWS credits |
| Decisions | February 2027 |
| Eligibility | The call page refers to the programme rules page and does not list the conditions |
| Application fee | The page mentions no fee |
| Official page | Automated Reasoning call, Fall 2026 |
Who can apply
The call page does not list the eligibility conditions itself. It refers to the Amazon Research Awards programme rules page, so read that page before you start, since it is the reference on who can apply. Proposals are submitted by principal investigators (PIs) and assessed against three criteria named in the call: relevance to Amazon’s problems, impact on automated reasoning research, and growth of the research community, including more and more diverse university researchers.
Research areas sought
- Neurosymbolic reasoning that combines large language models with solvers and proof checkers.
- Connecting large language models with solvers and interactive theorem provers.
- Automatic translation of specifications into formal notation and back.
- Measuring the completeness and coverage of formal specifications.
- Improving SAT, SMT and CHC solvers.
- Static analysis and model checking for software.
- Correct-by-construction methods such as Dafny and Verus.
- Provable security, privacy and cryptography.
- Verification of distributed protocols.
- Foundations of theorem provers such as Lean for Rust and C.
- Hardware modelling and netlist verification.
- Verifying the robustness of neural networks in visual perception, with a focus on object detection.
What you get
The page states that selected principal investigators may receive up to US$80,000 in unrestricted funds and up to US$40,000 in AWS promotional credits, plus training resources such as tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers. The awards are one-time unrestricted gifts, and the review panel sets the final amount. Budgets must be stated in US dollars, without overhead costs.
How to apply
- Read the official call page and the programme rules linked from it.
- Download the programme’s proposal template. The proposal should be no longer than 4 pages, excluding appendices, and must answer ten questions covering the application area, current and potential uses at Amazon, previous awards, assumptions and safety conditions, and, for tools, licensing, tutorials and maintenance.
- Sign in to the academic research portal (home.academic-research-portal.amazon.science) and submit your proposal before 4 November 2026.
Decision letters are sent in February 2027. Winners must report publications and other outputs, and provide updates through surveys or reports.
Advice from the al-khwarizmi team
- Start with the ten questions in the template, since they are the structure of the proposal. Write a short answer to each before you think about the wording.
- Tie your idea explicitly to one of the listed areas, because relevance to Amazon’s problems is the first assessment criterion.
- If your project is a tool, prepare your answers on licensing, tutorials and maintenance early, since the template asks for them.
- Prepare the budget in US dollars and leave out overhead costs, as the call requires.
- Read the programme rules page before anything else to confirm your eligibility, and do not assume it from this article.
FAQ
The call page mentions no fee.
No. The page describes it as a one-time unrestricted gift.
Decision letters are sent in February 2027.
It should be no longer than 4 pages, excluding appendices, using the programme template.
