This year, the judges have selected two finalists for the ALPSP Impact Award.
The finalists will be showcased in a lightning presentation session at the ALPSP Conference on 10 September, with the winners announced at the ALPSP Conference Awards Dinner.
In this series, we learn more about each of the finalists and their entries.
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Tell us about your organization
Atom Grants is an AI-powered grant search platform founded in 2022 by Tomer du Sautoy (CEO) and Hamilton Evans (CTO), two technical founders with deep research backgrounds. The company emerged from a simple yet profound realization: researchers were spending over 50% of their time searching for and applying to funding opportunities, with much of that effort devoted to manual, inefficient processes.
Tomer, with his physics background from the UK and experience growing up in an academic environment (his father was a mathematics professor at Oxford), partnered with Hamilton, who holds degrees in chemistry and computer science from Middlebury and spent two years in a physical chemistry PhD program at Caltech. After meeting at the Entrepreneur First incubator in London and initially exploring other ventures, we pivoted to focus entirely on solving problems for the research ecosystem – a decision driven by our shared passion for supporting the academic community that shaped us.
Since launching, Atom Grants has been adopted by thousands of researchers across numerous US institutions, helping them navigate an increasingly complex funding landscape with AI-powered tools designed specifically for the research community.
What is the project/product that you submitted for the Awards?
The project we submitted for the ALPSP Impact Award is Atom 2.0, a complete platform rebuild that represents a fundamental reimagining of how grant discovery works. Atom 2.0 isn't just an incremental improvement – it leverages cutting-edge AI to process and understand funding opportunities in ways that were impossible just months ago.
Unlike traditional grant databases that rely on basic keyword matching, Atom 2.0 uses semantic search technology that understands context and meaning. Researchers can input entire paper abstracts, previously rejected proposals, or detailed descriptions of their work, and our AI surfaces relevant opportunities from federal agencies, private foundations, and industry sources – all updated in real-time.
Tell us a little about how it works and the team behind it
Key features include:
Intelligent Profile Generation: When researchers join the platform, our system automatically creates detailed research profiles by analyzing publicly available information about their work, allowing institutions to onboard hundreds of researchers instantly without requiring CVs or manual data entry.
Advanced Eligibility Matching: Our AI can parse complex eligibility requirements and match them against researcher profiles to provide personalized eligibility assessments.
Interactive Grant Intelligence: Each grant page features an AI chatbot trained on the specific documentation for that opportunity. Researchers can ask anything from technical requirements to strategic questions and receive accurate, contextual answers.
Our team combines deep research experience with cutting-edge technical expertise. This unique background allows us to understand both the frustrations researchers face and the technological solutions needed to address them. We've built a platform that serves entire research ecosystems, with specialized interfaces for research administrators and collaborative features that keep everyone aligned.
In what ways do you think it demonstrates innovation?
Our innovation lies in several breakthrough areas:
AI-First Architecture: While other platforms retrofit AI onto existing systems, we built Atom 2.0 from the ground up to leverage AI capabilities. Every feature – from search to grant page generation to eligibility matching – is powered by advanced language models that understand research context.
Contextual Understanding Beyond Keywords: Traditional platforms miss critical nuances in grant requirements. Where a competitor might simply list a due date, our system captures complex submission processes, rolling deadlines, letter of intent requirements, and other critical details that could make or break an application.
Real-World Impact: The University of Memphis provides a compelling example of our platform's transformative potential. After implementing Atom, they achieved a remarkable 1,000% increase in faculty engagement – growing from fewer than 100 users per year with their previous system to over 600 active users. This engagement translated into record-breaking grant submissions. As Dr. Brian Evans, Assistant Director of Strategic Research Initiatives, noted: "We've had more faculty use Atom in the last year than we had use our old system in the last decade." Read the full Memphis case study to see how a newly classified R1 institution leveraged AI to transform their research development strategy.
Comprehensive, Real-Time Coverage: We update federal grants daily and foundation grants weekly, covering hundreds of thousands of sources across federal, foundation, and industry funding – ensuring researchers never waste time on expired opportunities while helping institutions diversify their funding sources in an uncertain federal landscape.
What are your plans for the future?
The rapid pace of AI advancement means our platform continuously improves with each new model release. We're not just keeping up with technology – we're pushing the boundaries of what's possible in research support tools.
Our immediate plans include expanding coverage to international funding opportunities and developing more sophisticated collaboration tools for research teams. We're also working on advanced analytics features that will help institutions make more strategic decisions about their research portfolios.
A major focus is our educational initiative. We're committed to growing our 1000 strong community which focuses on AI in research administration, featuring industry experts and comprehensive training resources. These resources help research administrators stay ahead of the rapidly evolving landscape of AI tools and funding opportunities.
Long-term, we envision Atom becoming the central nervous system for research funding – a platform that not only finds opportunities but helps researchers and institutions put proposals together and make strategic decisions about where to focus their efforts for maximum impact.
As we await the ALPSP Impact Award results, we're incredibly proud of how Atom 2.0 is already transforming the grant discovery process for researchers and institutions worldwide. The future of research funding discovery is here, and it's powered by AI that truly understands the complexity and nuance of academic research.
Learn More: Visit atomgrants.com to discover how Atom Grants can transform your institution's approach to funding discovery, or explore our educational resources and webinars to stay current with AI developments in research administration.
