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Find similar grantsNSF SBIR/STTR Phase I Programs is sponsored by NSF. Provides funding for small businesses to transform scientific discoveries into products and services.
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NSF Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Programs (SBIR/STTR Phase I) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation NSF Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Programs (SBIR/STTR Phase I) Archived funding opportunity This document has been archived. See NSF 26-510 for the latest version.
Important information for proposers and award recipients All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements . All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions . NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects.
Supports startups and small businesses to transform scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Phase I funding goes to build a proof-of-concept. The NSF SBIR/STTR programs provide non-dilutive funds for use-inspired research and development (R&D) of unproven, leading-edge, technology innovations that address societal challenges.
By investing federal research and development funds into startups and small businesses, NSF helps build a strong national economy and stimulates the creation of novel products, services, and solutions in the private sector; strengthens the role of small business in meeting federal research and development needs; increases the commercial application of federally-supported research results; and develops and increases the U.S. workforce, especially by fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically-disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses.
NSF seeks unproven, leading-edge technology innovations that demonstrate the following characteristics: The innovations are underpinned and enabled by a new scientific discovery or meaningful engineering innovation. The innovations still require intensive technical research and development to be fully embedded in a reliable product or service.
The innovations have not yet been reduced to practice by anyone and it is not guaranteed, at present, that doing so is technically possible. The innovations provide a strong competitive advantage that are not easily replicable by competitors (even technically proficient ones).
Once reduced to practice, the innovations are expected to result in a product or service that would either be disruptive to existing markets or create new markets/new market segments. The NSF SBIR/STTR programs fund broadly across scientific and engineering disciplines and do not solicit specific technologies or procure goods and services from startups and small businesses. The funding provided is non-dilutive.
Any invention conceived or reduced to practice with the assistance of SBIR/STTR funding is subject to the Bayh-Dole Act. For more information, refer to the SBIR/STTR Frequently Asked Questions, #75 . NSF encourages input and participation from the full spectrum of diverse talent that society has to offer which includes underrepresented and underserved communities.
This program is governed by 15 U.S.C. 638 and the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended ( 42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.
). The SBIR and STTR programs, initiated at NSF, were established in 1982 as part of the Small Business Innovation Development Act.
The NSF SBIR/STTR programs focus on stimulating technical innovation from diverse entrepreneurs and startups by translating new scientific and engineering discoveries emerging from the private sector, federal labs, and academia into products and services that can be scaled and commercialized into sustainable businesses with significant societal benefits.
The NSF SBIR/STTR programs are now part of the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) , which was recently launched to accelerate innovation and enhance economic competitiveness by catalyzing partnerships and investments that strengthen the links between fundamental research and technology development, deployment, and use.
June 26, 2025 - Office Hours: Preparing your NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I Proposal June 10, 2025 - Office Hours: Preparing your NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I Proposal May 6, 2025 - Office Hours: Intro to America’s Seed Fund at NSF March 18, 2025 - Office Hours: Intro to America’s Seed Fund at NSF February 27, 2025 - Office Hours: Preparing your NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I Proposal February 6, 2025 - Office Hours: Intro to America’s Seed Fund at NSF January 23, 2025 - Office Hours: Preparing your NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I Proposal January 16, 2025 - Office Hours: Intro to America’s Seed Fund at NSF December 5, 2024 - Office Hours: Preparing your Phase I Proposal for America’s… September 27, 2022 - Intro to NSF’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and… Additional program resources NSF SBIR/STTR Seed Fund Site Awards made through this program Browse projects funded by this program Map of recent awards made through this program Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Division of Translational Impacts (TIP/TI)
Key questions and narrative sections extracted from the solicitation.
Project description (10–15 pages addressing innovation, technical approach, and R&D plan)
Commercialization strategy
Scoring criteria used to review proposals for this grant.
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Small businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows up to $305,000. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I Programs is funded by NSF. Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
The solicitation lists 5 required documents: Project description (10–15 pages), Budget details, Biographical sketches, Commercialization strategy, and Intellectual property agreements (required for STTR; recommended for SBIR with subawards). Check the official notice for formatting and page-limit rules.
SBIR/STTR Phase I Programs is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF SBIR/STTR programs provide non-dilutive funding for cutting-edge technology innovations that address societal challenges. The Space (SP) topic seeks transformative technologies for sustainable space exploration, habitation, or industrialization, which could include in-space research or manufacturing systems, microgravity applications, and photonic devices and materials.
Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). This interagency program supports transformative, high-risk/high-reward advances in computer and information science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, behavioral, and/or cognitive research to address pressing questions in biomedical and public health. It encourages scientific and engineering innovations by interdisciplinary teams to develop novel methods to collect, sense, connect, analyze, and interpret data from individuals, devices, and systems, enabling discovery and optimizing health. This includes applying AI in healthcare.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs (Phase I) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The USDA SBIR/STTR programs focus on transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial potential and/or societal benefit in agriculturally-related areas. This can include app development for agricultural technology, rural development, and smart farming. Phase I aims to demonstrate technical feasibility.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is sponsored by NOAA. This program provides seed funding to small businesses for research and development of innovative technologies across NOAA's mission areas, including climate change adaptation and mitigation, coastal resilience, and extreme weather events. Phase I awards fund a six-month period for conducting feasibility and proof of concept research.
SBIR/STTR Phase I Programs is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF SBIR/STTR programs provide non-dilutive funding for cutting-edge technology innovations that address societal challenges. The Space (SP) topic seeks transformative technologies for sustainable space exploration, habitation, or industrialization, which could include in-space research or manufacturing systems, microgravity applications, and photonic devices and materials.
The NSF FY 2026-2030 Strategic Plan reorganizes the agency around three goals, names AI, quantum, and biotech as the critical technologies, codifies Gold Standard Science, and explicitly targets applicant burden. The implications for proposal strategy are bigger than they look.
Read articleCongress appropriated \$8.75 billion for NSF in FY2026, rejecting the administration's proposed 55% cut to \$3.9 billion. But between April and May 2025, DOGE terminated 1,752 grants worth \$1.4 billion, hitting STEM Education (\$888M, 839 grants) and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences hardest. Director Panchanathan resigned April 24, 2025; no permanent replacement has been named. Effective December 15, 2025, NSF cut minimum external reviews from three to two, made one internal review allowable, made panel discussions optional, and shrank panel summaries to three to five sentences. Here is what the new NSF actually looks like as a funder, who is being selected against, and how to position a 2026 proposal against the new merit review.
Read articleOn June 1, DARPA and NSF announced AI Forge — a jointly governed forum that will fund university-led research on three thrusts: AI interpretability, AI control, and adversarial robustness. The RFI on sam.gov closes June 22, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET. Project Ventures awards run roughly \$750K to \$3M with one-year durations and multiple awards expected annually. Administration runs through a nonprofit, intellectual property will be shared via open-source licensing, and CAISI at NIST is the third partner. Here is what the 15 priority research challenges look like and how U.S. universities should respond.
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