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Discovery tool, not advice. Every figure is the published rule, not a decision on your case.
Prizes

Twilio AI Startup Searchlight

Status

Status not published

2026 edition: application deadline Friday 11 September 2026; judging late September to late October 2026; honorees announced mid-to-late November 2026.

Check with the funder
Amount
$10,000

Prizes are Twilio credits plus a gift card, not a cash grant. Track 1 Breakthrough Builders (10 honorees): 'Receive up to $5,000 USD in one-time Twilio credits', a Ramp gift card worth up to $2,500 USD and swag worth $150. Track 2 Scaling Visionaries (20 honorees): 'Receive a one-time grant of up to $10,000 USD in Twilio credits', a Ramp gift card worth up to $5,000 USD and swag worth $300. Separately, honorees receive up to $2,500 USD in one-time OpenAI API credits. Note: Twilio's older open-to-all startup credits programme has wound down — the FAQ now says only that 'Every Twilio customer gets a small credit when they open an account'.

Funder

Twilio Inc.

private · supranational

Deadline: annual_call — 2026 edition: application deadline Friday 11 September 2026; judging late September to late October 2026; honorees announced mid-to-late November 2026.

Your odds
Not published

This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.

Effort
moderate

Moderate — a form and supporting documents.

Who can apply

Must demonstrate use of emerging technologies (voice, identity, generative AI), have a product in market with a working demo, have raised less than $200M in venture funding, and hold a Twilio account. Geographically unrestricted: 'eligibility is not restricted by geographic location; our search is worldwide!'

How to apply

  1. Open a Twilio account if you do not already have one. — link
  2. Submit the entry showing how you use emerging technologies (voice, identity, generative AI) with a working functional demo.
  3. Judging late September to late October 2026; honorees announced mid-to-late November 2026.

What you will need

Apply on the funder's site

Source. https://www.twilio.com/en-us/lp/twilio-ai-startup-searchlight — checked 2026-08-14

"Receive a one-time grant of up to $10,000 USD in Twilio credits"