Thank you for your interest in applying to the 2026 Arch Grants Startup Competition! If you would like to be considered for our program, please complete the following application in its entirety by March 31, 2026. Startup Competition Awardees will receive $75,000 in equity-free funding in addition to an array of resources and services throughout their cohort year. For those relocating to St. Louis, you will receive an additional $25,000 in relocation funding.

Arch Grants Startup Competition recipients must meet the following criteria:

• For-profit entities
• Technology-based products, services or solutions
• Scalable business models
• Early-Stage companies (validated idea stage through pre-Series A funding. Please contact competition@archgrants.org if you have questions).
• Are either located in Missouri or 150 miles or less from St. Louis on the Illinois side or are willing to relocate to St. Louis, MO for at least one year. This includes the business headquarters, significant operations, and 51% of the Founding Team (or 1 Founder and 51% of the team).

Companies currently located in the Greater Kansas City Metro are not eligible for our program. If this affects your company, we encourage you to apply for funding and support through our great partner organization, LaunchKC. 

All submissions will receive notification of their outcome by September 2026. Those chosen to proceed to the next round of the Competition will receive specific instructions on next steps.

Note: Arch Grants will not broadcast applications to the public, but we utilize a wide array of judges to help evaluate each company. We recommend to all applicants that they not share confidential information including trade secrets and intellectual property in their application or supporting materials since we cannot guarantee confidentiality.

Questions? Email competition@archgrants.org or check out our FAQ page.