What is the difference between SBIR and STTR?

Both fund the same phases from the same agencies. STTR requires a formal research-institution partner and a fixed split of the work between the company and the partner; SBIR does not, and puts the lead researcher inside the company.

Can a startup with no revenue apply?

Yes. The programme is built for companies that are pre-revenue: the award is a grant or a contract, takes no equity, and asks for evidence that the technology can work, not that the company already sells.

Is an SBIR award a grant or a contract?

Both exist. NIH, NSF and the USDA mostly make grants, where the company proposes the topic; the Department of Defense, NASA and DHS mostly issue contracts against topics the agency publishes. Each call’s page says which.

Do I need to register before applying?

Yes, in three places, and it takes weeks: SAM.gov for a Unique Entity ID, the SBA company registry for a small-business control ID, and the agency’s own portal, Grants.gov or a defence submission site. Start before the call opens.

Is SBIR still authorised?

The programme runs on an authorisation Congress must renew every few years. When it lapses, agencies stop issuing new awards until it is renewed, and open calls pause. Whether a call is live is on each grant’s page here, read from the agency’s own dates; check the agency’s SBIR site for the current authorisation before you start writing.

What do the state matching programmes add?

Several states pay a bonus on top of a federal Phase I or Phase II award to companies based there, in some cases matching it. They sit in this list beside the federal calls and follow their own deadlines.

Grants by programme

SBIR and STTR grants

SBIR and STTR are the United States' seed fund for small companies with a technical idea a federal agency wants to see built. Each agency runs its own calls under the same rules, so the openings are scattered across a dozen sites. This page gathers every one the catalogue tracks, open calls first, from the health, science, space, energy and defence agencies down to the state programmes that top up a federal award.

By agencyNIH14 NSF8 NASA STMD7 AFWERX4 IES4 NC BSTI4 NCATS4 NEI4 NIMHD4 DoD3 KY Innovation3 NASA3

GuidesSBIR/STTR Grants for Deeptech Startups NSF Seed Fund for Startups: How Deeptech Founders Should Approach NSF SBIR/STTR Commercialization Plan for SBIR and Deeptech Grants SAM.gov Registration and UEI Guide for Federal Grant Applicants

How the phases work

Phase I

Prove the idea

A short feasibility project, typically six months to a year, to show the technology can work. Awards are modest and a first-time applicant needs no federal track record.

Phase II

Build the prototype

About two years to develop and demonstrate what Phase I proved, at several times the Phase I budget. Only Phase I winners can apply, though some agencies run a direct route for teams with equivalent evidence.

Phase III

Sell it

No SBIR money changes hands. The agency, or a customer, buys the product or funds the work from other budgets, and Phase III awards can be made without a new competition.

Who can apply

A for-profit company organised in the United States, majority owned by US citizens or permanent residents, or by other qualifying small businesses or venture firms under the agencies’ rules, with fewer than five hundred employees counting affiliates. STTR adds a partner: a university, hospital or federal lab that carries a set share of the research. For SBIR the lead researcher must be mainly employed by the company; STTR lets the researcher sit at either partner.

Questions founders ask

What is the difference between SBIR and STTR?: Both fund the same phases from the same agencies. STTR requires a formal research-institution partner and a fixed split of the work between the company and the partner; SBIR does not, and puts the lead researcher inside the company.
Can a startup with no revenue apply?: Yes. The programme is built for companies that are pre-revenue: the award is a grant or a contract, takes no equity, and asks for evidence that the technology can work, not that the company already sells.
Is an SBIR award a grant or a contract?: Both exist. NIH, NSF and the USDA mostly make grants, where the company proposes the topic; the Department of Defense, NASA and DHS mostly issue contracts against topics the agency publishes. Each call’s page says which.
Do I need to register before applying?: Yes, in three places, and it takes weeks: SAM.gov for a Unique Entity ID, the SBA company registry for a small-business control ID, and the agency’s own portal, Grants.gov or a defence submission site. Start before the call opens.
Is SBIR still authorised?: The programme runs on an authorisation Congress must renew every few years. When it lapses, agencies stop issuing new awards until it is renewed, and open calls pause. Whether a call is live is on each grant’s page here, read from the agency’s own dates; check the agency’s SBIR site for the current authorisation before you start writing.
What do the state matching programmes add?: Several states pay a bonus on top of a federal Phase I or Phase II award to companies based there, in some cases matching it. They sit in this list beside the federal calls and follow their own deadlines.

Showing 1-24 of 160 grants

SBIR and STTR grants

How the phases work

Prove the idea

Build the prototype

Sell it

Who can apply

Questions founders ask

NSF Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I, Phase II, Fast-Track Programs: A Pilot Emphasis on Scientific Instrumentation

NSF Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR/STTR)

ARPA-H SBIR/STTR

NIH SBIR Direct-to-Phase II (Omnibus)

NIH SBIR Fast-Track (Omnibus)

NIH SBIR Phase I (Omnibus)

NIH SBIR Phase II (Omnibus)

NIH STTR Phase I (Omnibus)

NIH STTR Phase II (Omnibus)

NIMHD Parent SBIR Grant

NIMHD Parent STTR Grant

NIH Small Business Technology Transfer Grant

NIH, CDC and FDA Small Business Innovation Research Grant

NIMHD SBIR Phase IIB Strategic Breakthrough Award

NIMHD SBIR/STTR Commercialization Readiness Pilot

NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase IIB Strategic Breakthrough Award

SBIR/STTR Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) Program

Army SBIR Phase I

Army SBIR Phase II

DARPA SBIR Phase I

DARPA SBIR Phase II

NCATS STTR Phase I

NCATS STTR Phase II

AEDC SBIR Matching Grant

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