Programs run by Texas, its cities and Texas-based lenders and investors, checked on their official pages. Venture funds that filed a new Form D from Texas are listed below them. Nationwide grants are open to Texas businesses too.
10 listings open as of Oct 30, 2026.
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Founder Institute
Amount: Amount not listed · Due Nov 3, 2026 · Texas
Who qualifies: Pre-seed founders in the Austin cohort (Nov 17, 2026 to Feb 10, 2027). This is a paid program with a $1199 entrance fee, not a cash investment; companies pledge a 2.5% warrant that activates only at a qualifying outside financing.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Antler
Amount: Typically $500K to $1M initial commitment plus $650K in partner credits · Rolling, apply any time · California, New York, Texas
Who qualifies: Pre-seed founders in San Francisco, New York City and Austin. Antler reviews applications year-round and invites a select group monthly.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Central Texas Angel Network
Amount: Amount not listed · Rolling, apply any time · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Pre-seed, seed and Series A companies, US-based strongly preferred; you do not have to be in Texas. Takes preferred equity, capped convertible notes or capped post-money SAFEs.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Houston Angel Network (HAN)
Amount: Investment amount not listed; $100 application fee · Rolling, apply any time · Texas
Who qualifies: Early-stage companies raising pre-seed, seed, bridge or Series A as equity or convertible debt, with a working prototype. Deal committees cover energy, life sciences, consumer, tech and aerospace.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Loan (you repay it with interest) · Accion Opportunity Fund
Amount: Up to $250,000, terms up to 36 months · Rolling, apply any time · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Businesses with at least 2 years in operation and $300,000+ in annual sales, where shareholders are US citizens or permanent residents. Loans are offered in 45 states, including California and Texas.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Loan (you repay it with interest) · Business and Community Lenders (BCL) of Texas
Amount: $5,000 to $50,000; new-business loans $20,000 to $50,000 · Rolling, apply any time · Texas
Who qualifies: Texas small businesses, including owners within two years of opening. Offices in Austin, Dallas and San Marcos.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Loan (you repay it with interest) · Houston Business Development, Inc. (HBDI)
Amount: $5,000 to $350,000; start-up loans typically $25,000 to $75,000; Fast Track $5,000 to $35,000 · Rolling, apply any time · Texas
Who qualifies: For-profit businesses in the Houston metro area or surrounding counties, with one job created per $35,000 borrowed. Start-up loans need a 33% owner contribution and 3 years of industry experience.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Loan (you repay it with interest) · LiftFund (CDFI)
Amount: $500 to $1 million; rates 0% to 17.50% · Rolling, apply any time · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Startups through established small businesses, including owners with limited credit, collateral or experience. Based in San Antonio and lends nationwide, including Texas and California.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Loan (you repay it with interest) · Office of the Governor, Texas Economic Development & Tourism
Amount: Loans of $5,000 to $5 million enrolled by lenders · Rolling, apply any time · Texas
Who qualifies: Texas businesses with fewer than 500 employees, including very small businesses under 10 employees. You apply for the loan through an approved financial institution, which enrolls it in CAP.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Loan (you repay it with interest) · Office of the Governor, Texas Economic Development & Tourism
Amount: Loans of $5,000 to $20 million; state guarantees up to 80% of unpaid principal · Rolling, apply any time · Texas
Who qualifies: Small businesses with fewer than 500 employees and at least 51% of employees in Texas. Apply through an approved lender or ask your lender to enroll.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Hand-checked programs that accept applicants from any state, including Texas.
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Amount: Up to $1M: $500K for 10% on a SAFE, plus up to $500K more in the next qualifying round · Due Nov 1, 2026 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Very early teams with an idea, prototype or early product who are already building. 12-week in-person residency in San Francisco; founders can apply from outside the US. Applying is free.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Y Combinator
Amount: $500,000: 7% plus an uncapped MFN SAFE · Due Nov 2, 2026 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Early-stage startups and founders. The Winter 2027 batch runs January to March in San Francisco. On-time applicants hear back by December 11.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Competition (prize money, no repayment) · SXSW
Amount: Amount not listed · Due Nov 11, 2026 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Startups whose product launched on or after January 1, 2024 and that have raised no more than $10M. $225 non-refundable entry fee. Finals are in Austin in March 2027.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Competition (prize money, no repayment) · Tory Burch Foundation
Amount: Fellowship program, no cash amount listed · Due Nov 17, 2026 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Women 21 or older who own the largest stake in a for-profit US business that is at least 51% women-owned and makes at least $75,000 a year. US legal residents, English proficiency required.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Techstars
Amount: $220K (Techstars standard accelerator investment) · Due Nov 18, 2026 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Remote-first program for domain-expert founders in North American time zones, with emphasis on robotics, energy, applied and physical AI and materials science. Three in-person offsites, no relocation.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Techstars
Amount: $220K (Techstars standard accelerator investment) · Due Nov 18, 2026 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Founders in any sector, with priority for AI/ML, robotics, healthtech, tech bio and critical infrastructure. Program starts March 8, 2027.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Techstars
Amount: $220K (Techstars standard accelerator investment) · Due Nov 18, 2026 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Open to founders in any industry. Program starts March 8, 2027, with downtown Chicago office space.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Techstars
Amount: $220,000 ($200K uncapped MFN SAFE plus $20K for 5% common) · Due Nov 18, 2026 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Founders building in markets large enough for $1B+ annual revenue, with focus areas including health, climate, AI/ML, fintech, supply chains, future of work and enterprise SaaS. Founders can be based anywhere. Program starts March 8, 2027.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Grant (free money, no repayment) · U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (Hiring Our Heroes), supported by the FedEx Founder's Fund
Amount: Four $10,000 grants and one $25,000 grant · Due Dec 15, 2026 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: For-profit businesses at least 51% owned by a veteran or military spouse, with 3 to 20 employees and under $5 million in annual revenue, located in an economically vulnerable community or showing financial hardship. Owner must live in the 50 states.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Competition (prize money, no repayment) · Halstead Bead, Inc.
Amount: $7,500 cash grand prize plus $1,000 gift card; finalists get $1,000 cash · Due May 1, 2027 · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Emerging jewelry artists working primarily in silver. Applicants answer 15 business questions and submit a design portfolio. Full eligibility is in the downloadable application.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Band of Angels
Amount: Amount not listed · Rolling, apply any time · Nationwide
Who qualifies: Seed-stage high technology and life science companies, with a monthly deal cycle in Silicon Valley (hybrid with Zoom). No fees for presenting companies. Does not invest in real estate, restaurants, retail or funds.
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
Equity investment (investors take ownership) · Golden Seeds
Amount: Typically $125,000 to $350,000 in a company's first round of outside capital · Rolling, apply any time · Nationwide
Who qualifies: US-domiciled women-led companies with at least one woman in an operating C-suite role, a product in beta or later, and proof-of-concept revenue or significant pilots (consumer products need over $1M trailing revenue).
Source: Official program page · Last verified Oct 30, 2026 · Apply on the official site
20 US venture funds sized $10M to $150M filed a new Form D with the SEC from Texas in 2026Q3. A filing means the fund is raising money from its own investors, not that it takes cold pitches. Check each fund's own site first.
Texas economic development programs mostly target companies creating jobs, through programs such as the Texas Enterprise Fund. For smaller businesses the main state tools are loan programs such as the Texas Capital Access Program, plus nonprofit lenders that serve the whole state.
Cities including Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio run small business programs that open with their budgets, so check your city economic development office too.
A few, mostly tied to job creation or specific cities. Most Texas help for small businesses comes as loans and lender programs. The listings show what is open or recurring right now.
Yes. Nationwide grants, SBIR topics and SBA loans are open to Texas businesses; see the full Funding Finder.
Yes. Browsing, filtering and the weekly match email are free. You never need an account to see the listings.
Federal grants come from the Grants.gov API, SBIR and STTR topics from SBIR.gov, venture funds from the SEC Form D quarterly data set, and every other program was checked by hand on its official page. Each listing links to its source.
A refresh runs every Monday morning. It pulls the federal data again, removes anything past its deadline, re-checks every official link and hides programs whose page has gone dead.
No. KenjiAI does not take a fee or commission from any program listed in the Finder. Apply directly on the official site.
Sources: Grants.gov, SBIR.gov, the SEC Form D data set and each program's official page. KenjiAI takes no fee from any program listed here. Data refreshed Oct 30, 2026; the refresh runs every Monday. See also our funding and credit partners and other free tools.