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The U.S. National Science Foundation today relaunched its Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer programs with $250 million for the nation’s startups and small businesses, including an announcement of a new $40 million pilot emphasis area targeting the next generation of scientific instrumentation. The instrumentation initiative will invest in technologies that open entirely new fields of discovery, including novel experimental platforms and advanced scientific equipment.
The NSF SBIR/STTR programs provide non-dilutive funding for startups to develop deep technologies into commercially viable products and services with significant economic and security impacts. The program focuses on companies in the earliest stage of development; most are newly emerging from federally funded research including academic and federal labs. These “deep-tech” ventures lead scientific and engineering breakthroughs that translate into new generations of products and services that are commercialized into enduring businesses. Funding opportunities available through the NSF SBIR/STTR programs include Phase I, Phase II, Fast-Track, Supplements and Strategic Breakthroughs.
In addition, NSF is separately launching a new emphasis area focused on enabling technologies that include next-generation instrumentation, novel experimental platforms, and other scientific equipment. The new SBIR/STTR scientific instrument emphasis will prioritize investing in the necessary infrastructure to support entirely new fields of scientific discovery, making new technological breakthroughs and transformative applications possible.
“Scientific breakthroughs cannot have transformative impacts without the tools to further develop and pursue them,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. “NSF looks forward to building on a proven track record through its SBIR/STTR programs. In addition, we are excited to initiate a new emphasis area, leveraging NSF’s unique superpower to invest directly in the instruments and platforms that will define the next generation of discovery — and ensure America’s small businesses are at the forefront of building them.”
To get started, an entrepreneur must submit a project pitch to the NSF SBIR/STTR team. This first step spares entrepreneurs the time and effort of preparing a full proposal if the proposed innovation does not align with the NSF SBIR/STTR review criteria. If the proposed technology innovation aligns with the program mission, the company receives an invitation to submit a SBIR/STTR Phase I proposal. The program welcomes pitches and proposals spanning nearly all areas of technology to NSF. A project pitch can be submitted anytime; however, proposals are reviewed after each of three annual deadlines.
In the late 1970s, NSF piloted the SBIR program for the federal government. Following formal establishment in 1982, Congress authorized the program and extended it to other federal agencies with significant extramural research and development budgets. The program continues to provide early-stage, patient capital to technology startups for building prototypes and developing technologies to the point of market impact. Between Fiscal Year 2016 and FY 2025, NSF invested more than $2 billion in over 1,600 startups and small businesses, and these have gone on to raise nearly $36 billion in private investments, including roughly 380 exits, according to financial research platform Pitchbook.
Get more information about the program and attend an upcoming webinar.
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