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This is a genuinely new lane rather than a rebranding, and the framing in the solicitation is the reason it belongs in an AI funding list at all: NSF is investing in startups developing next-generation instrumentation, novel experimental platforms and other scientific equipment, explicitly including the novel instrumentation necessary for the coming era of AI-driven discoveries.
That phrasing opens the door for companies building the physical layer that AI-for-science depends on - self-driving laboratory hardware, high-throughput characterisation instruments, automated experimental platforms, sensing and data-acquisition systems designed for machine-learning-scale data collection - rather than companies building models.
NSF 26-511 runs as a separate solicitation alongside the main deep technologies solicitation NSF 26-510, sharing its award structure and deadline calendar but carrying its own instrumentation emphasis and its own pilot budget, reported at roughly $40 million within NSF's $250 million SBIR/STTR restart.
The economics are attractive for a startup: Phase I up to $305,000, Phase II up to $1,250,000, or a Fast-Track path combining both for up to $1,555,000, all non-dilutive, with NSF taking no equity and the company retaining full ownership of its intellectual property.
The gating mechanic to understand is the Project Pitch - NSF does not accept unsolicited Phase I proposals, and a company must submit a Project Pitch and receive an official invitation before it can submit a full Phase I proposal. That step, not the proposal deadline, is the real timeline constraint.
Deadlines recur on a fixed calendar: November 4, 2026, March 4, 2027, July 7, 2027, then annually on the first Wednesday in November, first Thursday in March and first Wednesday in July.
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Or search similar grants →According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Proposals must be submitted by firms qualifying as a small business concern with no more than 500 employees including affiliates, located in the United States. The principal investigator must be at least 51 percent employed by the small business and must have legal authorisation to work in the United States. STTR proposals additionally require a not-for-profit research institution partner. Phase I submission requires an official invitation obtained by first submitting a Project Pitch; unsolicited Phase I proposals are not accepted. Phase II is limited to firms holding a prior NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I award. Award levels are Phase I up to $305,000 over 6 to 18 months, Phase II up to $1,250,000 over typically 24 months, and Fast-Track combining a Phase I component of up to $400,000 over 6 to 12 months with a Phase II component of up to $1,155,000 over 18 to 24 months. Proposals are due by 5 p.m. local time on the published dates: July 27, 2026, November 4, 2026, March 4, 2027 and July 7, 2027, and thereafter on the first Wednesday in November and first Thursday in March annually. The July 27, 2026 deadline has passed; November 4, 2026 is the next window recorded here. The instrumentation emphasis is the distinguishing eligibility filter - proposals should be building instrumentation, experimental platforms or scientific equipment rather than software alone. Read the full NSF 26-511 solicitation at nsf.gov and confirm the Project Pitch timing, current deadlines, award ceilings and eligibility before submitting. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows phase I awards are up to $305,000 over 6 to 18 months and Phase II awards are up to $1,250,000 over typically 24 months, so amount_min is set to 305,000 and amount_max to 1,250,000 against those two published award levels. A Fast-Track option combines a Phase I component of up to $400,000 over 6 to 12 months with a Phase II component of up to $1,155,000 over 18 to 24 months, for a combined total of up to $1,555,000 - the largest single figure in the solicitation, though it spans both phases rather than being one award. The pilot is reported to carry approximately $40,000,000 within NSF's broader $250,000,000 SBIR/STTR restart, which is the program envelope rather than an award size. NSF takes no equity and awardees retain full ownership of their company and intellectual property. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Applications for NSF 26-511 SBIR/STTR Pilot Emphasis on Scientific Instrumentation for Startups Building Instruments for the Era of AI-Driven Discovery are due November 4, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
NSF 26-511 SBIR/STTR Pilot Emphasis on Scientific Instrumentation for Startups Building Instruments for the Era of AI-Driven Discovery is funded by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, America's Seed Fund. Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
The NSF Computer and Information Science and Engineering: Future Computing Research (Future CoRe) program (NSF 25-543) supports foundational computing research and education with a strong emphasis on AI and machine learning. The program funds research that advances the foundations of computing including AI/ML theory, algorithms, systems, and applications. Future CoRe supports small to medium-sized research projects that can have significant impact on computing foundations. The program has target dates of February 5, 2026 and September 10, 2026 for proposal submissions (note: these are target dates, not deadlines, meaning proposals may be submitted at any time but will be reviewed in batches around these dates). Investigators may not serve as PI, co-PI, or Senior/Key Personnel on more than two proposals submitted within any consecutive 12-month period across all Future CoRe programs. This is one of NSF's primary mechanisms for funding fundamental AI and machine learning research at U.S. academic institutions, covering areas such as machine learning theory, natural language processing, computer vision, robotics foundations, and human-AI interaction.
The ONR Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (N00014-25-S-B001) is the Office of Naval Research's primary mechanism for soliciting research proposals across all naval science and technology priority areas. The BAA accepts proposals on a rolling basis through September 30, 2026 and covers ONR's full spectrum of research interests with particular emphasis on AI-related topics including autonomous maritime systems, human-machine teaming, machine learning for sensor fusion, cooperative autonomous swarm technology, undersea autonomy, and AI-enabled decision superiority. Proposals can be funded through multiple mechanisms including individual investigator grants, the Young Investigator Program (~$510K over 3 years for early-career faculty), and Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) awards ($1.5M/year for 3-5 years for research teams). ONR recommends contacting relevant program officers before submitting to discuss alignment with current research priorities. The BAA supports basic research (6.1), applied research (6.2), and advanced technology development (6.3) across the full range of naval-relevant science and engineering disciplines.
DE-FOA-0003600 is the DOE Office of Science's FY 2026 open, rolling solicitation for financial assistance, providing roughly $500 million across seven program areas: Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, and Isotope R&D and Production. AI and machine learning research is supported directly through Advanced Scientific Computing Research, while Biological and Environmental Research funds atmospheric process research, environmental systems process research, and earth-energy systems modeling — making this a major channel for AI-enhanced climate and earth system modeling work. DOE anticipates 200 to 350 new awards ranging from $5,000 to $5 million each, with project periods from six months to five years. The FOA opened September 30, 2025 and accepts applications on a rolling basis through the end of FY 2026.
TCUP lists eight funding tracks and roughly $10.3M a year, but the October 14, 2026 deadline applies to only three of them — CHAI, Pre-TI, and TCUP Partnerships — and each carries a restriction that disqualifies most applicants. Here is the track-by-track math.
Read articleOn August 26, 2026, NSF named the STC class of 2026: TEMPEST at Michigan State, GENIE at Northwestern, and a human-robot co-adaptation center at UT Austin. $90 million total, $6 million a year each. The 2023 class was four centers and $120 million. The award size is intact; the shelf space shrank 25 percent — and that is the number that should reshape how you plan a center proposal.
Read articleOn July 14, 2026, NSF named 12 new Regional Innovation Engines across 20 states, each starting with $15 million over two years and eligible for up to $160 million across a decade. But the Engines program is not a research grant — it is a bet on a regional coalition's ability to convert federal seed money into private matching capital. The first cohort turned $135 million into over $2 billion in commitments. Here is how the milestone-gated structure actually works, who wins these awards, and what a region needs in place long before the next competition opens.
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