O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants 2026: Historical Reference for the Closed $100,000 Program

O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants 2026: Historical Reference for the Closed $100,000 Program

This page is a historical reference. The O’Shaughnessy Ventures (OSV) 2026 Fellowship application window closed on April 30, 2026; OSV’s official FAQ says there would be no deadline extensions. OSV has not published an opening date or deadline for another round. A support article says it hopes to see applicants when next year’s window opens, but that is not an application announcement and gives no dates. Do not treat the closed form as an invitation to submit late.

The program remains worth understanding because its project scope is unusually broad. OSV describes the fellowship as a one-year program for researchers, builders, and creatives. The January 2026 announcement described ten planned $100,000 fellowships and up to twenty grants of at least $10,000, with applicants considered for both tracks through one application. OSV’s dedicated program page now describes fellowship awards as up to $100,000 and says the 2026 cycle selected 13 fellows. These are distinct statements: the dated announcement set out the plan, while the current program page gives the later award range and cohort count. OSV presents support as equity-free and says recipients retain ownership of their work.

At a glance

What OSV offered in 2026

The fellowship was designed as one year of concentrated support. OSV’s dedicated program page currently describes awards of up to $100,000, says the work can be pursued while recipients keep 100% ownership, and summarizes funding as tailored to a project’s scope. Its January 2026 announcement had described ten planned $100,000 fellowships and up to twenty grants of at least $10,000. The current winners page lists 13 fellows for 2026. Keeping these figures in their source context avoids presenting an earlier plan as the final cohort count or implying that every fellowship award was a fixed amount.

The grant was a sister track rather than a separate application. OSV stated that fellowship applicants were automatically considered for grants, with no second grant form. The 2026 announcement said the organisation planned to award up to twenty grants of at least $10,000. OSV’s support FAQ describes the grants as a sister program, with grants of at least $10,000 and up to twenty planned. Public material reviewed here does not give a final 2026 grant recipient count.

The financial terms did not require an applicant to turn the project into a venture-backed company. OSV’s FAQ says the fellowship is aimed primarily at individuals and that a person does not have to start a company. It also says the creator retains the intellectual property: OSV makes no claims on output produced before, during, or after the program. Funds could be used for reasonable living and work expenses when those expenses supported the project. The FAQ gives a new place near the work or a more capable laptop as examples of potentially reasonable uses, while separating those from purchases unrelated to the work.

Eligibility and fit

The official eligibility statement is simple: the fellowship was open to adults worldwide, regardless of background. OSV’s public description names researchers, builders, and creatives, but it does not restrict applicants to a university, nonprofit, company, or particular country. The 2026 announcement also said the program was fully remote, so relocation was not part of the offer.

Students were not required to leave their studies. The FAQ says undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students did not have to drop out. Applicants also did not have to quit a job, although OSV said it preferred people willing to go all in for a year and described at least 40 hours a week as a useful level of commitment. The FAQ says the ideal commitment was higher than 60 hours a week. That is a preference and a description of the intended intensity, not a stated education or employment prerequisite.

The project itself could take many forms. OSV lists art, music, computer programs, new products, deep scientific research, journalism, documentaries, sculptures, and other work. Its examples include language preservation, brain simulation, assistive devices, data storage in plants, films, and other scientific, artistic, and technical projects. The common thread is not a sector label. It is a project that the applicant is unusually suited to pursue and wants to develop into a substantial body of work.

There was one important boundary for startup applicants. OSV’s FAQ directs people who have already started, or plan to build, a venture-scale company with outside investment toward Infinite Adventures, OSV’s venture-capital arm. That does not bar a founder from the fellowship in every circumstance, but it does clarify that the Fellowships and Grants were primarily for individual project work rather than a conventional fundraising process.

How the 2026 application worked

The 2026 cycle used a single application. A person applying for the fellowship did not need to complete a second form for the grant track. OSV said the same submission would be considered for both opportunities. The application was submitted through OSV’s hosted form, which was linked from the official program page.

OSV’s application guidance describes the form as a written pitch. The organisation asks applicants to keep answers simple, clear, direct, and concise. It says the strongest applications explain the project plainly, show the impact of previous work rather than listing credentials without context, and use concrete numbers where they help. The selection guidance asks whether the project is clear and unique, what outcome it will produce, whether the applicant has already done difficult work, and whether the applicant’s approach fits OSV’s ambitious style.

OSV’s public documentation does not establish that every applicant had to submit a pitch video or PDF. Its application FAQs advise applicants who cannot submit to check whether an uploaded PDF meets the form’s size limit, and its application feedback guidance names wrong or inaccessible pitch-video links among common problems. The dedicated program site’s privacy notice also describes pitch decks and video submissions as possible application materials. These references support preparing clear project materials and working links, but they do not make every item a confirmed mandatory attachment. The 2026 application form is now protected, so its complete field list and exact upload requirements cannot be checked publicly.

For a serious submission, the practical sequence was:

1. Define the project in one sentence, then explain the concrete result the year of support would produce.
2. Gather evidence of work already completed, such as prototypes, publications, performances, research, community work, or shipped products.
3. Write the application as a focused pitch. Explain why this applicant is suited to the project, what is new about the approach, and what may go wrong.
4. Follow the form’s own instructions for any requested supporting material. OSV’s public help material references pitch-video links and PDF uploads but does not confirm that these were compulsory for every applicant.
5. Check any link and upload for access, accuracy, and file-size compliance. OSV says submitted forms cannot be edited and its FAQ advises contacting support if a submission fails.
6. Submit through the official application route before the published closing date. For the 2026 cycle, OSV reviewed applications on a rolling basis and said most applicants received an update within 30 days.

The submission step is no longer available for the 2026 cycle. These notes record the documented process without assuming that a future cycle will use an identical form or materials list.

What made a credible application

The award size could tempt applicants to write a grand manifesto. OSV’s own advice points in the opposite direction: make the work easy to understand. A strong historical reading of the 2026 criteria suggests several practical tests.

First, the project needed a visible endpoint. “I will explore a topic” is weaker than a defined artifact, experiment, body of research, film, device, publication, or service that could exist after a year. Second, the applicant needed evidence of follow-through. OSV’s selection guidance repeatedly focuses on work already done, not only on the promise of a future idea. Third, the scope needed to match the resources and time. A large ambition can still be credible if the first year is broken into a small number of meaningful outcomes.

The application also rewarded intellectual honesty. OSV asks applicants to think about failure and to explain the risks in the plan. That is more useful than pretending every technical, artistic, or community problem has already been solved. A good answer could identify a test that might fail, a dependency that might arrive late, or an audience that might reject the first version, then explain what the applicant would learn and do next.

Any video, PDF, or pitch deck requested by the form would have supplemented the written project pitch; the publicly available instructions do not reveal exactly how reviewers used each item. Applicants could still make the core case clear in writing: a defined project, evidence of commitment, and a believable plan were central to OSV’s published selection guidance.

Timeline and status

OSV’s official announcement states that applications opened on January 1, 2026. The official program page and FAQ state that applications closed on April 30, 2026, with no extensions. OSV said submissions were reviewed on a rolling basis and that most applicants got an update within 30 days, but that review timing did not keep the form open after the closing date.

OSV’s dedicated program page says the 2026 applications closed April 30, 2026, and shows the stages that followed: introductory calls through May 30, 2026, and deeper conversations through June 15, 2026. Its application link leads to a protected form labeled for 2026, not an open submission window. OSV’s support article, last updated May 10, 2026, says it hopes to see applicants when next year’s window opens; that expresses an expectation but publishes no new deadline or application instructions. No later cycle is open or dated in the official material reviewed. The correct status is therefore historical, not “ongoing,” “rolling,” or “apply now.” Keep April 30, 2026 as the real deadline for the archived cycle; it is not a live deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still apply for the 2026 fellowship?

No. The 2026 application window closed on April 30, 2026, and OSV’s FAQ says there would be no extensions.

Is the grant a separate opportunity?

It was a sister track, but not a separate form for 2026. OSV said fellowship applicants were automatically considered for grants. The grants were described as awards of at least $10,000, while the dedicated program page describes fellowship awards of up to $100,000 for one year. The January 2026 announcement had stated a plan for ten $100,000 fellowships.

Did applicants need a company?

No. OSV says the fellowship is aimed primarily at individuals and that applicants do not have to start a company. Venture-scale founders seeking outside investment were directed to Infinite Adventures instead.

Could someone outside the United States apply?

Yes. OSV described the fellowship as open to adults worldwide, regardless of background, and said the program was fully remote.

Who owned the work?

The recipient did. OSV’s FAQ says it makes no claims on output created before, during, or after the program.

Where should a future applicant look for a new date?

Check OSV’s official Fellowships page, its support knowledge base, and OSV’s official application announcement. A future cycle should be treated as open only when OSV publishes its dates and application instructions. The link to the authenticated 2026 form should not be assumed to represent a new round.

Bottom line

The O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants were a global, remote, individual-focused program with broad project eligibility. OSV’s January 2026 announcement described ten planned $100,000 fellowships and up to twenty grants of at least $10,000; its dedicated program page now states fellowship support of up to $100,000 and lists 13 fellows for 2026. The cycle closed on April 30, 2026. OSV has expressed hope for a next-year window but has not published its dates or opened a new application in the official sources reviewed. This page preserves the documented terms and process as an archive entry rather than presenting the closed form as active.