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Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is a federal grant and contract program administered across 11 U.S. agencies that funds small businesses to conduct research and development with strong commercial potential. The program is structured in three phases: Phase I awards support feasibility studies, Phase II awards fund full R&D development, and Phase III supports commercialization without SBIR funds.
Eligible applicants must be U.S.-based small businesses with 500 or fewer employees where the principal investigator is primarily employed by the business. Award sizes vary by agency and phase, with Phase I typically up to $275,000 and Phase II up to $1. 83 million.
Solicitations are released on a rolling basis by participating agencies throughout the year.
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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) NSF's implementation of the revised 2 CFR NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website .
These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.
Important information for proposers All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements.
Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.
Updates to NSF Research Security Policies On July 10, 2025, NSF issued an Important Notice providing updates to the agency's research security policies, including a research security training requirement, Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program annual certification requirement, prohibition on Confucius institutes and an updated FFDR reporting and submission timeline.
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. 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
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: U. S. small businesses developing high-risk, high-reward technologies. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows up to $305,000 (Phase I). Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Small Business Innovation Research Program is funded by National Science Foundation. 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.
India Sustainable Growth Hub (ISGH) Research Grants is a grant from the International Growth Centre (IGC) that funds policy-relevant research on sustainable economic growth in India, supported by funding from the Bezos Earth Fund. Two award types are available: full research grants up to GBP 40,000 and small research grants up to GBP 15,000. Projects must demonstrate strong policy relevance, potential for impact, and robust research methods. The lead Principal Investigator must be a researcher based in India and affiliated with an Indian institution, though co-investigators may be based internationally. Eligible institutions include universities, research centres, think tanks, NGOs, and government bodies registered in India. Bihar is a priority partner region.
United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD). This program aims to increase the use of America's navigable waterways and integrate them into the U.S. surface transportation system. It supports projects that develop and expand documented vessels or port and landside infrastructure, strengthening American supply chains, reducing emissions, and creating jobs. Eligible activities include planning, construction, and resilience. Private-sector operators of Marine Highway Projects or owners of facilities may apply with an endorsement letter from a Marine Highway Route Sponsor.
DARPA and NSF launched a joint program on June 1 to fund university work on AI interpretability, control, and adversarial robustness. Awards run $750K to $3M+ per project, the forum launches this summer, and the universities listed in the AI Forge repository will sit closest to the money. The Request for Information closes June 22.
Read articleNSF's new Tech Accelerators initiative funds lead organizations that then fund teams. The four target sectors — agricultural, materials, ocean, and scientific instrumentation — share a structural problem federal R&D has historically failed to solve. The SAM.gov RFI is the first sorting step.
Read articleNSF 26-508 funds up to 56 State/Territory Coordination Hubs at $1M/year for three years. Each institution can submit only one. Letter of intent due June 16; full proposal July 16. The first round will set a default coordinator in many states that round two cannot displace.
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