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Unclaimed
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Grants

NSF America's Seed Fund (SBIR/STTR)

NSF SBIR/STTR - America's Seed Fund powered by NSF

Status

Status not published

Three proposal deadlines per year. Published in NSF 26-511: 27 July 2026; 4 November 2026 and the first Wednesday in November annually thereafter; 4 March 2027 and the first Thursday in March annually thereafter; 7 July 2027 and the first Wednesday in July annually thereafter. A Project Pitch must be submitted and approved first.

Check with the funder
Amount
$1,250,000

Solicitation NSF 26-511: Phase I 'up to $305,000 in R&D funding' over 6-18 months; Phase II 'up to $1,250,000' over 24 months. NSF raised these ceilings from previous levels in June 2024. NSF's headline is 'We invest up to $2 million in seed funding' across the phases including supplements.

Funder

U.S. National Science Foundation

public · national

Deadline: Fixed cut-off dates — Three proposal deadlines per year. Published in NSF 26-511: 27 July 2026; 4 November 2026 and the first Wednesday in November annually thereafter; 4 March 2027 and the first Thursday in March annually thereafter; 7 July 2027 and the first Wednesday in July annually thereafter. A Project Pitch must be submitted and approved first.

Your odds
11.0%

Published by the funder, FY2022 / historical. This rate is measured post filter, so the odds from a standing start are lower.

Source

Effort
major

Major bid — written case, budget, possibly partners.

Who can apply

NSF 26-511: applicants must be 'firms qualifying as a small business concern' with the 'size limit of 500 employees includes affiliates'; majority US-owned and for-profit, located in the US. STTR proposals must include a partner research institution. NSF funds any area of science and engineering with commercial potential except clinical trials and certain regulated activities. SAM.gov registration with a UEI is mandatory before award - it is the practical gate for all federal awards.

How to apply

  1. Submit a Project Pitch; prospective applicants 'must obtain an official invitation to submit a proposal' from NSF program staff. Invitations remain valid for the next two submission deadlines. — link
  2. Register the company in SAM.gov (UEI), Research.gov and the SBA Company Registry. — link
  3. Submit the full Phase I proposal via Research.gov or Grants.gov by a deadline. — link
  4. Phase I awardees may later apply for Phase II (up to $1,250,000, 24 months).

What you will need

Related reading: How grant deadlines actually work · UEI and SAM.gov registration, explained · SBIR vs STTR: what actually differs

Apply on the funder's site

Source. https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/small-business-innovation-research-small-business-technology-0/nsf26-511/solicitation

"up to $305,000 in R&D funding ... 6-18 months ... Phase II ... up to $1,250,000 ... 24 months"

Last checked against the official page on 14 August 2026

Source: www.nsf.gov

Report an error Something wrong or out of date? Tell us.

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