Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (Sprind) is making a direct pitch for faster grant approvals as a way to keep European research projects competing with U.S. and Chinese capital. In interviews ahead of its largest funding round, Sprind director Jano Costard argued that the traditional six-month grant timeline creates a “funding bottleneck” in fast-moving fields. Sprind’s operating model, created in 2019 and inspired by ARPA-style risk funding, targets a 14-day review window for grant decisions. Costard said quicker funding helps researchers avoid slipping toward U.S. venture capital channels when approvals drag. The agency is also described as disciplined in follow-on funding, emphasizing measurable success markers and terminating projects when performance falls short—aiming to fund breakthrough efforts rather than average results. For European higher education researchers, Sprind’s approach signals a shift toward speed and portfolio management as the new competitive baseline.