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America’s seed fund

SBIR and STTR: America’s seed fund

Eleven federal agencies set money aside each year for small businesses that do research and development. The programs are SBIR and STTR. They suit founders who are building something hard and are willing to plan in years, and they are open to anyone who qualifies.

Prepare for your first proposal

Checked

SBIR and STTR are authorized through September 30, 2031.

As of October 15, 2026: the programs are open. President Trump signed S. 3971, the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, on April 13, 2026. SBA reports that it reauthorizes SBIR and STTR through September 30, 2031. The public award data shows new awards nearly stopped from October 2025 to March 2026, before the new law.

SBA describes the reforms as strengthening program integrity, protecting against foreign adversaries, expanding access for new innovative businesses and making sure taxpayer dollars deliver measurable results. Agencies are still publishing how they will apply the new law, so read the current solicitation and the agency notice before you rely on any detail.

Always check sbir.gov and the agency’s own SBIR/STTR page for the latest: agencies are still updating policies and solicitations to match the new law.

  1. New awards in the public SBIR.gov data fell from 1,479 in the same six months a year earlier to 243. The programs were paused in practice. SBIR.gov award data download .

  2. S. 3971 was signed into law. SBA reports the programs now run through September 30, 2031. DOE’s SBIR page states the programs were reauthorized effective this date. U.S. Small Business Administration, news release 26-43 ; U.S. Department of Energy, SBIR/STTR notice .

  3. NASA’s SBIR/STTR page lists solicitations open now and decisions scheduled for November and December 2026. NASA SBIR/STTR program page .

  4. The date through which SBA reports the programs are authorized: five years of certainty for a founder who plans a long run. U.S. Small Business Administration, news release 26-43 .

SBIR and STTR, side by side

They share the same agencies, the same three phases and the same rules about who may apply. The difference is one partner. SBIR.gov describes it this way.

SBIR

Small Business Innovation Research

  • The small business can do the research on its own.
  • At least two thirds of Phase I work and half of Phase II work is done by the company.
  • Offered by all eleven participating agencies.

STTR

Small Business Technology Transfer

  • The small business partners formally with a research institution, such as a university or a federal research laboratory.
  • The company does at least 40 percent of the work and the research institution at least 30 percent.
  • Offered by five agencies in practice: in the award data, DoD, HHS, DOE, NASA and NSF make almost all STTR awards.

If the company has a research partner already, or the work depends on a lab, STTR is worth a look. If not, SBIR is the usual start.

A launch, not a sprint

Phase I proves the idea. Phase II builds it. Phase III is the market, and no program money is awarded there.

The three phases are a trajectory with real distance between the stations. In the award data, the median company that goes on to a second-phase award waits about a year and a half after its first. Founders who treat that wait as part of the plan are the ones who get through it.

See each phase in detail

A small amber capsule leaves a hexagonal pad labeled Phase I, passes a gate labeled Phase II and heads for a hexagonal world labeled Phase III, with four steps hanging below the path: register, choose a topic, submit and review.
  1. Phase I Prove the idea can work
  2. Phase II Build it
  3. Phase III Sell it
  4. Register SAM.gov, SBA registry, Login.gov
  5. Choose a topic Read open solicitations
  6. Submit Plan, budget and team
  7. Review Months, not weeks
The path from a first registration to the market.

What the programs have put to work

Every figure below is public, and each links to where it came from.

Awards, year by year

Dollars awarded in each fiscal year, all agencies together.

SBIR and STTR dollars awarded by fiscal year Dollars awarded climb from $38 million in 1983 to $1.1 billion in 2000 and $2.4 billion in 2005, hold near $2.5 billion through 2015, reach $4.0 billion in 2020, peak at $4.9 billion in 2024 and fall to $4.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. $0B $1B $2B $3B $4B $5B 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 2023 2025 SBIR and STTR dollars awarded by fiscal year Dollars awarded climb from $38 million in 1983 to $1.1 billion in 2000 and $2.4 billion in 2005, hold near $2.5 billion through 2015, reach $4.0 billion in 2020, peak at $4.9 billion in 2024 and fall to $4.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. $0B $1B $2B $3B $4B $5B 1983 1993 2003 2013 2023 2025

Dollars awarded by fiscal year, 1983 to 2025, as the public SBIR.gov award data records them. The amber column is the largest year.

Source: SBIR.gov award data download . Awards are counted in the fiscal year of their award date, summed by WE, and shown in billions of dollars.

Show the data
SBIR and STTR awards by fiscal year
Fiscal yearAwardsDollars awarded
1983785$38 million
19841,286$149 million
19851,821$193 million
19862,152$303 million
19872,740$268 million
19882,639$390 million
19892,781$394 million
19903,189$448 million
19913,363$449 million
19923,405$517 million
19933,960$623 million
19943,985$596 million
19954,322$948 million
19964,020$915 million
19974,741$1.1 billion
19984,446$1.1 billion
19994,945$1.2 billion
20005,621$1.1 billion
20016,149$1.2 billion
20027,164$1.6 billion
20037,389$1.8 billion
20047,630$2.5 billion
20057,137$2.4 billion
20066,837$2.5 billion
20076,300$1.9 billion
20086,362$2.4 billion
20096,766$2.4 billion
20107,193$2.6 billion
20116,095$2.3 billion
20125,635$2.3 billion
20135,103$2.1 billion
20145,264$2.3 billion
20155,170$2.5 billion
20165,399$2.7 billion
20176,021$3.2 billion
20185,659$2.8 billion
20197,039$3.8 billion
20207,316$4.0 billion
20216,881$3.8 billion
20226,639$4.5 billion
20236,325$4.7 billion
20246,412$4.9 billion
20255,219$4.1 billion

When the authority paused, the awards slowed

New awards nearly stopped from October 2025 until the law was signed on April 13, 2026. The award data shows the gap.

Awards dated October 2025 through March 2026 number 243 in the public data, against 1,479 in the same six months a year earlier. The most recent months may still be filling in as agencies report, so read the last bars as a floor.

The lesson for a founder is patience: even a program of this size can pause. Plan for the long run, and keep other routes warm.

SBIR and STTR awards by month, January 2024 onward Monthly awards run from about 200 to over 1,000 through 2024 and most of 2025, with a peak each September at the end of the fiscal year. They fall to 154 in October 2025, 66 in November, and 10 or fewer a month from December to March, then reappear at about 50 a month from June to August 2026 while agencies are still reporting. 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 Jan 24 Apr 24 Jul 24 Oct 24 Jan 25 Apr 25 Jul 25 Oct 25 Jan 26 Apr 26 Jul 26 Aug 26 SBIR and STTR awards by month, January 2024 onward Monthly awards run from about 200 to over 1,000 through 2024 and most of 2025, with a peak each September at the end of the fiscal year. They fall to 154 in October 2025, 66 in November, and 10 or fewer a month from December to March, then reappear at about 50 a month from June to August 2026 while agencies are still reporting. 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 Jan 24 Jul 24 Jan 25 Jul 25 Jan 26 Jul 26 Aug 26

Awards by the month of their award date, January 2024 onward. Amber columns are the six months from October 2025 to March 2026.

Source: SBIR.gov award data download . Awards counted by WE by calendar month of the award date. Recent months can be undercounted while agencies report.

Show the data
SBIR and STTR awards by month
MonthAwards
Jan 24236
Feb 24450
Mar 24326
Apr 24379
May 24641
Jun 24388
Jul 24963
Aug 24946
Sep 241,144
Oct 24169
Nov 24177
Dec 24267
Jan 25364
Feb 25297
Mar 25205
Apr 25317
May 25373
Jun 25372
Jul 25583
Aug 25757
Sep 251,216
Oct 25154
Nov 2566
Dec 2510
Jan 2613
Feb 260
Mar 260
Apr 260
May 261
Jun 2644
Jul 2650
Aug 2652

Why this fits a company built for the long run

Research money is paid for work, not for a share of the company.

  • An award pays for research and development. It is a contract, grant or agreement for work, not a purchase of shares in your company, so ownership stays where it is.
  • The clock matches. A first award takes months to land, and the second phase usually follows after more than a year. A company that already plans in years loses nothing waiting.
  • The work is checked by experts. A proposal that survives technical review has been tested against a reviewer who does not know you.
  • The agency can become a customer. Phase III is a purchase, and an agency may buy the result without a new competition.

None of this makes a first award likely. Competition is real, and the success rates on the phases page say so plainly. It does make the programs a good fit for founders who would rather build slowly and well.

One route among many, and all of them welcome

SBIR and STTR sit beside revenue, customers, state programs, university labs and private capital. They are not a replacement for any of those and WE does not rank them against one another. Founders do best when they know every route, and WE encourages them to consider all of them.

The organizations named on these pages are independent programs WE encourages founders to consider; no affiliation is implied.

Browse the wider ecosystem of programs

Prepare alongside people who plan for the long run

WE helps founders get ready for SBIR and STTR: choosing an agency and a topic, checking eligibility, lining up the registrations and writing a plan that holds up over years. WE is not an agency, does not make or review awards, and cannot promise that any proposal is funded. WE makes no promise of funding.

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Sources

  1. Administrator Loeffler Applauds SBIR-STTR Reauthorization (SBA news release 26-43, April 13, 2026), U.S. Small Business Administration . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  2. S.3971, Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act (119th Congress), U.S. Congress, congress.gov
  3. About SBIR and STTR, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  4. How to Apply, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  5. SBIR.gov award data download (no-abstract CSV), all agencies, 1983 to 2026, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  6. SBIR/STTR Programs, Office of Science notice on reauthorization, U.S. Department of Energy . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  7. NASA SBIR/STTR, solicitation schedule (last updated October 14, 2026), National Aeronautics and Space Administration . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  8. America's Seed Fund, powered by NSF, U.S. National Science Foundation . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  9. Small Business Program Basics, National Institutes of Health, NIH SEED . Accessed October 15, 2026.

A source listed without a retrieval date was cited from a reputable index and could not be opened by this build. Dates are when the page was read. Programs change: always check sbir.gov for the latest.

Always check sbir.gov for the latest. Awards, rules and deadlines change by agency and by solicitation.