Human-Computer Interaction Grant – Apply Today

Human-Computer Interaction Grant – Apply Today is sponsored by NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). Supports entrepreneurs and startups at the earliest stages of developing innovative, differentiated, and novel human-computer interaction technologies in domains such as health, education, families, or work.

Human-Computer Interaction Grant – Apply Today | NSF SBIR Check recent critical alerts!

(Last updated 4/16/2026) Human-Computer Interaction (HC) Development of OrganoBait synthetic bait, the NSF-Supported projected from Kepley BioSystems to provide an ocean-restorative alternative bait product Human-Computer Interaction (HC) The Human-Computer Interaction (HC) topic aims to support entrepreneurs and startups at the earliest stages of development of innovative, differentiated and novel HCI in the context of domains, such as health, education, families, or work to design new computing systems to amplify humans’ physical, cognitive, and social capabilities which translate research-based insights into commercializable opportunities for scalable, real-world application.

Technologies in this portfolio include multimedia and multimodal interfaces, such as haptic, tangible, gestural, spatial, and wearable; brain-computer interfaces; intelligent and interactive user interfaces; affective computing; human state estimation involving interaction; and methods for interaction with artificial intelligence.

This topic includes commercialization of computational methods and systems for creating and authoring video, audio, textual, visual, and multimedia forms in support of creative expression and ideation and includes technology-supported human-to-human communication and systems which foster innovation and dismantle barriers to scientific progress in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and the development of information, interaction, networks, systems, and other forms of computation in response to human needs, desires, and intentions.

HC1. Multimedia and Multimodal Interfaces HC2. HC Computational Methods and Systems HC3.

Smart Integrated Systems HC4. Human-to-Human Communication Systems via Technology HC5. Other Human-Computer Interaction Technologies Application process for Human-Computer Interaction (HC) funding Eligibility for Human-Computer Interaction (HC) funding + Your company must be a small business (fewer than 500 employees) located in the United States.

At least 50% of your company’s equity must be owned by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. NSF does not fund companies that are majority-owned by multiple venture capital firms, private equity firms, or hedge funds, to participate in SBIR and STTR. All funded work, including work done by consultants and contractors, needs to take place in the United States.

The project’s principal investigator (tech lead) must be legally employed at least 20 hours a week by the company seeking funding. The principal investigator doesn’t need any advanced degrees. The principal investigator needs to commit to at least one month (173 hours) of work on a funded project per six months of project duration.

Evaluation Criteria: What We Look for When Evaluating Human-Computer Interaction (HC) proposals + Take our project assessment to see if your work might be a good fit for NSF funding.

Accessible, multisensory content for visually impaired students Vital, a small business funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is developing touchscreen-based software that translates visual educational content into accessible, multisensory content for students with special needs. To learn more visit: https://www. vital.

education/ We invest up to $2 million in seed funding and take zero equity. We’re looking for companies that are transformative, high-risk, have a market pull, and are scaleable.