NIST Funds Eight Startups in $3.19M AI, Quantum, and Cyber SBIR Round

The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded $3.19 million in Phase II SBIR funding to eight small businesses across seven states, backing 24-month prototyping projects in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and biotechnology.

Where the Money Is Going

Each company received approximately $400,000 to advance technologies from proof of concept to working prototypes. The portfolio maps directly to White House science and technology priorities:

AI and cybersecurity: ObjectSecurity LLC (San Diego) is building an AI tool that generates cyber-hygiene scores by cross-referencing the National Vulnerability Database and other threat intelligence sources. Applied Imaging Solutions (Quincy, MA) is developing short-wave infrared hyperspectral imaging with AI for real-time biopharmaceutical cell culture monitoring.

Quantum: Icarus Quantum Inc. (Boulder, CO) is engineering scalable semiconductor quantum dot photon sources—a foundational component for practical quantum networks and sensors that could underpin next-generation secure communications.

Health and environment: Calimetrix (Madison, WI) is producing phantoms mimicking fatty liver tissue for more accurate MRI and CT diagnostics. MyExposome (Philadelphia) is refining solvent-free extraction methods for PFAS exposure detection using silicone wristband monitors—a tool with implications for both clinical research and environmental justice.

Universal Schedule and Booking (Harpers Ferry, WV) and AMAG Consulting (Schenectady, NY) round out the cohort with smart energy infrastructure and advanced electron microscope simulation software, respectively.

What This Signals for SBIR Applicants

NIST's Phase II portfolio reads like a roadmap of where federal R&D dollars are heading. Five of the eight awards directly address administration priorities in AI, quantum information science, and semiconductors—the same areas driving reorganization at NSF and shaping DOE solicitations.

For small businesses preparing Phase I proposals, the pattern is unmistakable: technologies at the intersection of AI, quantum, and national security infrastructure carry the strongest tailwinds. The $400,000 Phase II ceiling also makes NIST a particularly accessible entry point for early-stage deeptech firms compared to DOD or DOE programs with larger but more competitive pools.

Detailed breakdowns of active SBIR solicitations across all federal agencies are available on Granted. Further analysis of NIST's shifting priorities is on the Granted blog.