With the support of Arm, the company building the future of computing, this year’s WILDLABS Awards will distribute $350,000 to advance conservation technology across 15 projects. We will continue to offer two grant levels of $10,000 and $50,000, designed to support projects at both early and more advanced stages of conservation technology deployment and development.

Whether you are developing new technologies, applying technical expertise in the field, creating collaborative tools and resources for the global conservation technology community, or exploring cutting-edge innovations to achieve your conservation goals, the WILDLABS Awards offer the support needed to turn ideas into impact.

In 2025, we received more than 1,250 applications across the WILDLABS Awards and the Boring Fund. Anticipating strong interest in the 2026 WILDLABS Awards, and recognising the time and effort required from both applicants and reviewers, we will run the awards this year as a two-stage process: an initial Expression of Interest open to all, followed by an invitation-only submission of full applications. Full details around the application process, requirements, and timelines are listed below; please ensure you read this full article in detail so that you have the information you need to apply.

Submit your Expression of Interest here!

Award Details

We are awarding $10,000 and $50,000 grants to up to 15 projects, each receiving up to one year of funding to advance their conservation technology work. Other awardee benefits include:

• Access to a public platform to share and publish progress and results
• Project coverage through Arm and WILDLABS communication channels, including virtual events, case studies, and interviews
• Support from the WILDLABS team to ensure that project updates and results are shared widely throughout our community and beyond

• Access to Arm’s community of technology experts and the WILDLABS community of conservation technology experts

   

Key Dates

• Awards Launch: 18 February 2026
• Expression of Interest deadline: 18 March 2026 (23:59 PST)
• Selected projects will be invited to submit full applications once the Expression of Interest Deadline has closed
• Invited applications deadline: April 2026
• Review Period: April - May 2026
• Awards Given and Winners Announced: May - June 2026
• Project duration: June 2026 – June 2027

How To Apply 

• Review the WILDLABS Awards 2026 Terms and Conditions
• Complete the Expression of Interest Form (deadline 18 March 2026)
• If invited, complete the Full Application Form

Selection Criteria

Projects will be assessed based on how well they meet the following criteria:

• Application Quality
• Contribution to the Conservation Technology Sector
• Feasibility
• Team Capacity

The selection team will also consider how applicants could benefit from the support of these Awards in terms of accessibility for underrepresented groups. We especially encourage applications from low- and middle-income countries and aim to see stronger representation from marine and freshwater projects in 2026. You can see the full breakdown of statistics from our last funding round on this page.

Requirements

• Each project is required to demonstrate a clear and credible application of Arm-based technologies. Detailed information on the tools used in your project, including model and intended purpose, must be provided during the expression of interest and application process.
• Funds may cover project salaries but not tuition or higher education costs.
• Funds cannot be used for publication fees, as the one-year project period is generally too short to complete the peer-review process.
• All projects must submit quarterly progress updates via email, as well as a final report detailing outcomes, budget, and impact survey.
• For $50,000 grants:
  • Projects must be proposed by teams composed of at least two people. We encourage teams to feature cross-sector and/or interdisciplinary collaboration
  • Payments will be made only to an organisational bank account
  • Projects will be required to produce a video highlighting the project’s process and impact.

What We Are Looking For 

The WILDLABS Awards are specifically designed to fund projects at the intersection of conservation and technology. Projects outside these areas, including green technology, are not eligible. There are three main types of projects that the WILDLABS Awards support:  

1. Fostering Innovation (primarily for technology projects): Innovation projects testing and piloting technology solutions with identified end-user requirements and grounding in real conservation needs.
2. Technology Adoption and Application (primarily for conservation projects): Conservation projects that integrate technology to broaden the reach and impact of their initiatives, and which improve or adapt existing tools to conservation situations.
3. Usability & Scaling (for conservation and technology projects): Projects that improve tech accessibility and availability by improving usability and bridging the gap between R&D/piloting and implementation in conservation. We will also support work that transforms project ideas into products, helps scale manufacturing, and deploys already piloted technologies. 

Projects supported through the WILDLABS Awards can address a wide range of conservation challenges, including (but not limited to) biodiversity and environmental monitoring, species protection, ecosystem restoration, human–wildlife conflict, unsustainable resource use, climate change impacts, and protected area management, across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems. 

Additionally, supported projects may use or advance a broad range of conservation technologies, from field-based sensors and monitoring devices to AI-enabled and traditional analytical tools, geospatial and remote sensing systems, and platforms that enable data collection, integration, and decision-making across conservation contexts. These examples are not exhaustive, but provide examples of the types of technologies, equipment, and conservation challenges projects could be working on. 

Across challenge areas and technologies, the WILDLABS Awards are designed to support projects at different stages of maturity, from early-stage experimentation to scaling and deployment of proven solutions. We highly encourage cross-sector collaboration and interdisciplinary work. To get a sense of the types of the projects previously funded, you can read more about the 2025 grantees.

Resources 

• Post your questions in the 2026 Q&A thread
• View the 2024 & 2025 Q&A threads
• Watch last year’s Q&A webinar
• Review lessons learned from previous years
• Contact [email protected]   

Support Us in Scaling

We expect to receive overwhelming demand for support again this year, highlighting just how urgently the conservation tech community needs more resources to fund their vital work. If you’re interested in helping us make a bigger impact by supporting even more projects, please reach out to [email protected].

About Arm

Arm is the industry’s highest-performing and most power-efficient compute platform with unmatched scale that touches 100 percent of the connected global population. To meet the insatiable demand for compute, Arm is delivering advanced solutions that allow the world’s leading technology companies to unleash the unprecedented experiences and capabilities of AI. Together with the world’s largest computing ecosystem and 22 million software developers, we are building the future of AI on Arm. 

About WILDLABS

WILDLABS is the first global, open online community dedicated to conservation technology.