NIH SEED — Small Business Education and Entrepreneurial Development logo
NIH SBIR / STTR — Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer

NIH SBIR Phase I

Funds early stage United States biomedical teams through NIH seed support for feasibility work on prototype ready ideas.

OpenNIH SEED — Small Business Education and Entrepreneurial DevelopmentUnited States
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About

NIH SBIR Phase I awards are non-dilutive grants that support feasibility studies and early-stage technical merit assessments for biomedical and health-related innovations developed by US small businesses. NIH sets aside more than $1.4 billion annually from its extramural R&D budget specifically for its Small Business Programs (SBIR and STTR combined), making it the largest source of non-dilutive e…

What this grant funds

Researcher-initiated biomedical and health-related R&D feasibility studies across all 24 participating NIH Institutes and Centers, with topic priorities set by each IC.

Key facts
CycleiHow often this grant runs — e.g. annually, on a rolling basis, or a one-off call.Multiple per year
Next deadlineiThe next date applications are due. Rolling means you can apply any time.5 Sept 2026
Decision timeiTypical time from the deadline to the funder's decision.—
Project durationiHow long the funded work is expected to run.6–24 months
Award typeiThe form of funding — grant, equity, loan, tax credit, etc.Grant
Match fundingiThe share of project costs you must cover yourself. 0% = fully funded.0%
Funding pooliThe total budget available across all awards in this round.$1.4B
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Last verified: 24 Jul 2026Source: seed.nih.gov