Germany's Sovereign Tech Fund has been making sizable investments into various Linux desktop projects, the Rust-based Coreutils implementation, libmicrohttpd, PHP, a systemd bug bounty, and other prominent open-source software that could benefit from greater financial resources. Today they have announced they have opened up for a new round of applications for those open-source projects seeking funding from this German government initiative.

With the STF application platform being open for new submissions, they have also announced some changes. First up, they will now accept a lower threshold for projects. Previously the Sovereign Tech Fund would provide a minimum of €150,000 per contract while now that amount has been lowered to a €50,000 minimum per project. This lower minimum is intended for open-source projects that may not be seeking a full-time engagement but rather to tackle smaller items.

The updated criteria is largely the same as before for the Sovereign Tech Fund. Funding applications are reviewed on the basis of the software being prevalent and relevant, if the software is not sufficiently funded currently, in the benefit of public interest, the necessary expertise within the project, and similar factors.

Software projects interested in submitting an application or simply wanting to learn more can do so via SovereignTechFund.de .