Ask one question — "do I qualify for an evaluation?" — and if the answer is yes you get three things at once: a short-term Ansys evaluation license for the exact tools your problem needs, live engineering support from an assigned application engineer, and free self-paced learning to ramp up. It costs nothing to ask, no obligation either way. Evaluations are Ansys programs, granted through Ansys and its authorized channel partners at their discretion — we make the request easy and set you up properly if it's approved.
The real, full-capability Ansys products — not a size-capped student build — scoped to the physics your project needs, running on your geometry and your data.
An application engineer from an authorized channel partner is assigned to your eval — someone who has solved your class of problem — for setup, meshing, physics, and reading results.
Self-paced Ansys courses matched to your tools, so you learn between sessions and keep the knowledge afterward.
An evaluation is for proving Ansys can do what you need on your real problem. For many founders, that same work is the first virtual prototype — the feasibility evidence that strengthens a AFWERX / SpaceWERX — STRATFI & TACFI proposal and the demo that moves investors. There are no strings on what you build; you're encouraged to put it to work on your MVP.
Confirm, with your own model, that Ansys is the right tool — and that you can master it — before committing a dollar.
Produce the stress plots, flow fields, and thermal maps that de-risk the physics and make the pitch. The MVP playbook →
Scope the eval across tools — Fluent + Mechanical for FSI, HFSS + Icepak for RF electrothermal — to test your real multiphysics workflow.
Not to start learning the landscape — but to win a contract you'll need a registered US small business (under 500 employees, majority US-owned) with active SAM.gov and DSIP registrations. Those registrations take time, so if you're pre-incorporation, begin them early. Nothing on this site requires you to be incorporated to read it.
No. SBIR/STTR contracts, TACFI, STRATFI, and the new Strategic Breakthrough tier are all non-dilutive — they're contracts, not equity investments. The matching-money side of STRATFI/TACFI may involve private investors who do take equity, but that's a separate, optional relationship you choose.
Roughly: Phase I ~$75K over ~3 months; Phase II ~$1.25M–$1.9M over ~15–24 months; TACFI ~$375K–$2M; STRATFI ~$3M–$15M; and the new Strategic Breakthrough tier up to ~$30M. Amounts and timelines vary by cycle and are approximate — always confirm on the official AFWERX and SpaceWERX pages before you plan around a number.
AFWERX is the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force (a directorate within AFRL); SpaceWERX is the US Space Force counterpart. They share the same funding ladder and tools. Pick based on where your technology fits — air-domain work goes to AFWERX, on-orbit and launch to SpaceWERX — though plenty of dual-use tech is relevant to both.
No — it's not a requirement. But most of what these agencies fund is physics-heavy hardware, and credible engineering analysis makes a much stronger feasibility and prototype case than hand-waving. Simulation is a way to de-risk the build and produce evidence reviewers respect, not a box to check.
We can help arrange an Ansys evaluation license, live engineering support, and free learning content through a channel partner. To be clear: evaluation licenses and the Ansys Startup Program are Ansys programs, offered at Ansys and partner sole discretion, and you're free to use any partner you like. Everything on this site is informational — nothing here is promised, guaranteed, or owed.
Under 20 minutes to a reply during business hours.
