Mozilla Foundation Fellowships 2027–2028

Applications are open for the Mozilla Foundation Fellowships 2027–2028, an international funding opportunity for individuals developing ambitious ideas and technologies that can help shape a better digital future. The programme supports builders, researchers, founders, technologists and creative advocates whose work challenges existing systems and explores new ways of ensuring that technology serves people and communities.

Mozilla Foundation will award 10 fellowships for the 2027–2028 period. Each fellowship will run for 12 months, beginning June 1, 2027. Successful applicants will receive funding of up to US$125,000, depending on the fellowship track, alongside access to a global network of more than 200 former fellows.

The programme has two tracks: Embedded Fellows, who collaborate with civil society organisations, and Independent Fellows, who develop their own ambitious projects. Applications are open to individuals from different professional backgrounds and sectors. Projects do not have to be based within nonprofit organisations, but they must advance Mozilla Foundation's charitable mission and produce meaningful public benefit.

About the Mozilla Foundation Fellowships

The Mozilla Foundation Fellowships support individuals working on technology that has the potential to create meaningful social change. The programme seeks people who are prepared to question established approaches, develop alternatives and build systems that give individuals and communities greater control over the technologies they use.

Rather than funding routine improvements to existing products, Mozilla is interested in ambitious projects that explore new possibilities. These may include tools, platforms, infrastructure, technical systems and creative approaches that address emerging challenges in technology.

The 2027–2028 cohort will focus on several areas where important decisions about the future of technology are being made. These include artificial intelligence, biotechnology, digital infrastructure, online business models, cybersecurity and community control of technology.

Fellowship Benefits

Selected fellows will receive financial support and opportunities to develop their projects over a 12 month period.

Benefits include:

• Embedded Fellowship funding: US$100,000 in total, comprising a US$75,000 stipend and a US$25,000 project budget.
• Independent Fellowship funding: US$125,000 in total, comprising a US$100,000 stipend and a US$25,000 project budget.
• Project development: Financial resources to develop and advance the proposed work.
• Mentorship: Embedded Fellows receive guidance and support through their host civil society organisations.
• Professional network: Access to a global community of more than 200 Mozilla Foundation fellows and alumni.
• Leadership development: Opportunities to strengthen technical leadership and contribute to wider conversations about the future of technology.
• Public impact: Support for developing projects that can benefit communities and influence how technology is designed, governed and used.

Areas of Focus

The 2027–2028 fellowship will support work across several technology themes.

Neurotechnology, biotechnology and physical AI: Projects that help communities understand, influence and govern technologies increasingly connected to human bodies and the physical world.

Hard infrastructure: Work involving computing, energy, quantum technologies and other critical infrastructure, with an emphasis on transparency and community access.

Artificial intelligence that benefits more people: Projects that develop AI systems with wider social benefits and challenge barriers that limit who can build and benefit from these technologies.

Business models for a post agentic web: New approaches to online business and digital services that support creators, communities and an open internet.

Shared security and audit infrastructure: Affordable tools that help smaller organisations test, audit and improve the security of the technologies they use.

Sovereign AI and public infrastructure: Technologies that enable communities to own, operate and maintain their digital infrastructure rather than depending entirely on distant commercial providers.

Creative Advocacy: One Independent Fellowship position is reserved for an artist, culture jammer or creative advocate using unconventional methods to challenge assumptions about technology.

Wildcard projects: Applicants with ideas outside the listed themes may apply if their proposals align with Mozilla's mission and meet the programme's requirements.

Eligibility Requirements

Mozilla Foundation welcomes applicants from different countries, sectors and professional backgrounds. The programme is open to individual applicants rather than teams applying jointly for a single fellowship.

Applicants must satisfy the following conditions:

• Be an individual with a credible project or proposal aligned with the fellowship's objectives.
• Propose work that advances Mozilla Foundation's charitable mission and creates meaningful public benefit.
• Be legally able to receive fellowship and grant funding from Mozilla Foundation.
• Demonstrate the ability and availability to participate in the full 12 month programme beginning June 1, 2027.
• Submit the application in English. Translation tools may be used to help prepare the submission.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should follow these steps:

1. Read the official call for applications. Review the Mozilla Foundation fellowship announcement and the full request for proposals to understand the focus areas, funding arrangements and expectations.
2. Choose a fellowship track. Decide whether to apply as an Embedded Fellow in collaboration with a host organisation or as an Independent Fellow developing an individual project.
3. Identify the relevant focus area. Explain how your proposed work addresses one of the listed themes or qualifies as a Wildcard project.
4. Prepare your Letter of Intent. Describe the work you want to undertake, the people or communities who will benefit and the impact you hope to achieve.
5. Check your funding eligibility. Confirm that you can legally receive fellowship and grant funds from Mozilla Foundation.
6. Submit the Letter of Intent. Complete the online application before December 17, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
7. Prepare for the next stage. If shortlisted, follow the invitation instructions and submit the full application by March 12, 2027.