← Back to the funding database
AllGrantOpen
National Science Foundation
NSF SBIR/STTR
Amount
$1.1M
Phase I: $280,000, Phase II
Deadline
Rolling
Odds
~400 per year
Effort
1 to 2 hrs
Can you get this?
✓Up to $2M in non-dilutive seed funding
✓For early-stage R&D and product development
✓Open to startups across nearly all tech areas
✓Open to all Americans including first-time entrepreneurs
✓Technology must show commercial and societal potential
Your real odds
NSF funds roughly 400 companies per year across all technology areas.
Acceptance rates are low, and the applicant pool is broad, but the program has run since 1977, so the process is established and learnable.
What it takes
Complete the Project Fit Assessment1 to 2 hrs
Submit a Project Pitch1 to 2 weeks
Submit Full Proposal if invited4 to 8 weeks
Worth knowing
NSF weighs innovativeness, commercial potential, and societal impact alongside scientific merit, and portfolio companies show that framing your technology as a transition from research to scalable commercial product is central to a winning application.
What else do you qualify for?
Filter 1,700+ opportunities by identity, stage, and region.
Select all three to see your result.
More like this
$50B+ in available capital across grants, VC funds, CDFIs, and accelerators. Filter by your industry, stage, and region, and see everything you qualify for.
Explore the funding database →
$19/month · cancel anytime