America’s seed fund
The eleven SBIR and STTR agencies
Eleven agencies run the programs, and they do not feel alike. Some write contracts for a specific need, others make grants for the best idea. Picking the right one is half the work.
Checked
SBIR and STTR are authorized through September 30, 2031.
S. 3971 reauthorized both programs through September 30, 2031. U.S. Small Business Administration, news release 26-43. 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.
Eleven agencies, one program
Contracts, grants and agreements, each with its own way in.
Every agency below sets aside money for small businesses that do research, and the list is the one SBIR.gov publishes. Select an agency to jump to its card.
Each agency, in plain words
Budgets and ranges are as SBIR.gov lists them. How each agency feels to apply to is WE’s reading of the agency’s own pages and of the award data. Always read the current solicitation.
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DoD Department of Defense
- Funding type
- Contracts
- Yearly budget
- $2.3 billion
- Phase I
- $50,000 to $250,000
- Phase II
- $800,000 to $1.83 million
- STTR
- Offered
Topics. Priority areas such as artificial intelligence and autonomy, biotechnology, cybersecurity, microelectronics, quantum sciences and space.
How it feels. Topic-led. Defense components publish specific topics, and you answer a topic through the DoD SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP). The customer is a program office that wants a capability, so the proposal reads like a plan to deliver one.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies
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HHS Department of Health and Human Services (mainly the National Institutes of Health)
- Funding type
- Grants and contracts
- Yearly budget
- $1.2 billion
- Phase I
- $275,000 and up
- Phase II
- $1.83 million
- STTR
- Offered
Topics. Health, life science and biomedical discoveries.
How it feels. Mostly investigator-initiated grant applications through funding announcements, with a separate list of contract solicitations. Scientific review is rigorous and the writing is long. NIH sets aside $1.4 billion a year across these programs, by its own count.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies , NIH SEED, Small Business Program Basics
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DOE Department of Energy (including ARPA-E)
- Funding type
- Agreements
- Yearly budget
- $349 million
- Phase I
- $200,000 to $300,000
- Phase II
- $1.1 million to $2 million
- STTR
- Offered
Topics. Scientific computing, environmental management, fossil and fusion energy, cybersecurity, energy security and more.
How it feels. Topic-led, by program office, with funding opportunities released on a schedule. The programs are managed by DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization, and DOE’s own page says they were reauthorized effective April 13, 2026.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies , U.S. Department of Energy, SBIR/STTR notice
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NSF National Science Foundation
- Funding type
- Grants
- Yearly budget
- $174 million
- Phase I
- $300,000
- Phase II
- $1.25 million
- STTR
- Offered
Topics. Almost all technology and market sectors, except clinical trials.
How it feels. Open, not topic-led. NSF asks for a short project pitch first, and invites a full proposal only when the pitch fits. It describes itself as seed funding of up to $2 million that takes no ownership of your company.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies , NSF America's Seed Fund
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NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Funding type
- Contracts
- Yearly budget
- $174 million
- Phase I
- $150,000
- Phase II
- $1 million
- STTR
- Offered
Topics. Seventeen technology areas, including propulsion, avionics, power and energy storage, robotics and communications.
How it feels. Topic-led. In 2026 NASA began using a Broad Agency Announcement that releases subtopics through the year instead of once a year, and its page lists each opening with its close and selection dates.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies , NASA SBIR/STTR program page
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USDA Department of Agriculture
- Funding type
- Grants
- Yearly budget
- $42 million
- Phase I
- $125,000 to $175,000
- Phase II
- $600,000
- STTR
- Not offered
Topics. Forest resources, plant and animal production, food science and nutrition, rural development, aquaculture, biofuels and small farms.
How it feels. Topic-led grants through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, with topic areas that map to farm, food and forest problems.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies
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DHS Department of Homeland Security
- Funding type
- Contracts
- Yearly budget
- $15 million
- Phase I
- $175,000
- Phase II
- $1 million
- STTR
- Not offered
Topics. Border and maritime security, chemical and biological defense, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, first responders and more.
How it feels. Topic-led contracts shaped by the operational needs of its security missions.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies
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DOT Department of Transportation
- Funding type
- Contracts
- Yearly budget
- $9 million
- Phase I
- $200,000
- Phase II
- $1 million
- STTR
- Not offered
Topics. Technologies supporting the Federal Highway, Railroad and Transit Administrations and the pipeline safety agency.
How it feels. A small program, with topics tied to the missions of its operating administrations.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies
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ED Department of Education
- Funding type
- Contracts
- Yearly budget
- $10 million
- Phase I
- $250,000
- Phase II
- $1 million
- STTR
- Not offered
Topics. Education technology for students, educators, infants and toddlers, and learners with or at risk for disabilities.
How it feels. Contracts for education technology used in classrooms and in early-intervention and special-education settings.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies
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EPA Environmental Protection Agency
- Funding type
- Contracts
- Yearly budget
- $5 million
- Phase I
- $100,000
- Phase II
- $400,000
- STTR
- Not offered
Topics. Air quality, homeland security, sustainable materials, safe chemicals, land revitalization and clean water.
How it feels. A small program with environmental topics and among the smallest award sizes of the eleven, which suits a tightly focused first project.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies
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DOC Department of Commerce (NIST and NOAA)
- Funding type
- Grants
- Yearly budget
- $15 million
- Phase I
- $100,000
- Phase II
- $400,000
- STTR
- Not offered
Topics. Technologies that support the missions of NOAA and NIST.
How it feels. Grants tied to weather, ocean, measurement and standards problems.
The agency’s SBIR/STTR page SBIR.gov, Participating Federal Agencies
Where the dollars have gone
Total dollars awarded by agency, fiscal years 2020 to 2024.
Defense and health together account for most of the money, and both make a lot of awards. The smaller agencies make fewer awards and publish fewer topics to choose from.
STTR is concentrated too: in this window DoD, HHS, DOE, NSF, NASA made almost every STTR award, and all other agencies together made 34.
Dollars awarded by agency, fiscal years 2020 to 2024. Amber is the largest.
Source: SBIR.gov award data download . Awards pooled over five fiscal years and summed by WE. Medians are of award amounts in the window.
Show the data
| Agency | Awards | Dollars awarded | Median Phase I | Median Phase II | STTR awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DoD | 17,293 | $11.2 billion | $139,984 | $1,247,027 | 3,375 |
| HHS | 6,742 | $6.6 billion | $300,000 | $1,961,669 | 1,241 |
| DOE | 3,184 | $1.7 billion | $200,000 | $1,149,704 | 407 |
| NSF | 2,287 | $1.0 billion | $256,000 | $999,268 | 361 |
| NASA | 2,489 | $940 million | $149,126 | $754,998 | 375 |
| USDA | 573 | $168 million | $125,000 | $649,987 | 34 |
| DOC | 344 | $93 million | $149,987 | $499,826 | 0 |
| DHS | 197 | $85 million | $149,962 | $999,716 | 0 |
| ED | 121 | $63 million | $250,000 | $1,000,000 | 0 |
| DOT | 175 | $62 million | $149,980 | $499,896 | 0 |
| EPA | 168 | $29 million | $100,000 | $399,994 | 0 |
Second-phase awards for every hundred first-phase awards
A sign of how often an agency carries work forward, not a success rate.
For every 100 Phase I awards in this window, DoD made about 73 Phase II awards and EPA about 33. The ratio compares counts in the same years, so it is not the chance that a given Phase I company receives a Phase II. Use it as a hint about how the agency treats continuing work, and ask the program staff.
Phase II awards per 100 Phase I awards, fiscal years 2020 to 2024. Agencies with fewer than 50 Phase I awards are left out.
Source: SBIR.gov award data download . A ratio of counts in the same window, computed by WE. It is not a conversion rate.
Show the data
| Agency | Phase I awards | Phase II awards | Phase II per 100 Phase I |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoD | 10,007 | 7,286 | 73 |
| HHS | 4,179 | 2,563 | 61 |
| DOE | 2,098 | 1,086 | 52 |
| NSF | 1,683 | 604 | 36 |
| NASA | 1,713 | 776 | 45 |
| USDA | 395 | 178 | 45 |
| DOC | 231 | 113 | 49 |
| DHS | 130 | 67 | 52 |
| ED | 73 | 48 | 66 |
| DOT | 102 | 73 | 72 |
| EPA | 126 | 42 | 33 |
New names win every year
About 29 in 100 Phase I awards from 2015 to 2024 went to a company with no earlier award.
The programs are not closed to newcomers. Each year a large share of Phase I awards goes to a company that has never had an SBIR or STTR award. That is the reason to start preparing now, even if the first proposal is a year away.
Share of each year’s Phase I awards that went to a company with no earlier SBIR or STTR award in the data.
Source: SBIR.gov award data download . Companies are matched by name in the award data, which undercounts name changes. Years near the start of the data have less history to match against, so they overstate newcomers.
A company that changed its name can look new twice.
Show the data
| Year | Phase I awards | To a first-time awardee | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4,197 | 815 | 19.4% |
| 2001 | 4,537 | 768 | 16.9% |
| 2002 | 5,478 | 1,073 | 19.6% |
| 2003 | 5,543 | 1,157 | 20.9% |
| 2004 | 5,373 | 1,334 | 24.8% |
| 2005 | 4,981 | 1,035 | 20.8% |
| 2006 | 4,570 | 853 | 18.7% |
| 2007 | 4,479 | 810 | 18.1% |
| 2008 | 4,216 | 757 | 18% |
| 2009 | 4,682 | 863 | 18.4% |
| 2010 | 4,978 | 1,012 | 20.3% |
| 2011 | 4,095 | 767 | 18.7% |
| 2012 | 3,880 | 769 | 19.8% |
| 2013 | 3,467 | 768 | 22.2% |
| 2014 | 3,580 | 807 | 22.5% |
| 2015 | 3,359 | 787 | 23.4% |
| 2016 | 3,557 | 861 | 24.2% |
| 2017 | 3,851 | 925 | 24% |
| 2018 | 3,755 | 1,057 | 28.1% |
| 2019 | 4,668 | 1,540 | 33% |
| 2020 | 4,753 | 1,518 | 31.9% |
| 2021 | 4,495 | 1,414 | 31.5% |
| 2022 | 3,888 | 1,092 | 28.1% |
| 2023 | 3,790 | 1,055 | 27.8% |
| 2024 | 3,811 | 1,142 | 30% |
| 2025 | 2,893 | 857 | 29.6% |
Every state, a few at the top
54 states and territories have winners, and the top 10 took 66 in 100 awards from 2015 to 2024.
The winners cluster where universities, laboratories and defense customers cluster. That says where support is dense, not where a good idea can come from. Many states run matching programs of their own to help companies elsewhere compete.
Awards by state, the 10 with the most, fiscal years 2015 to 2024. The table lists the 25 with the most awards and the rest together.
Source: SBIR.gov award data download . Counted by WE by the state recorded for the awardee.
Show the data
| State | Awards | Dollars awarded |
|---|---|---|
| California | 12,588 | $7.6 billion |
| Massachusetts | 6,409 | $4.1 billion |
| Virginia | 3,627 | $2.2 billion |
| Texas | 3,287 | $1.7 billion |
| Colorado | 3,048 | $1.6 billion |
| Maryland | 2,771 | $1.7 billion |
| New York | 2,771 | $1.6 billion |
| Ohio | 2,550 | $1.3 billion |
| Pennsylvania | 2,370 | $1.5 billion |
| Florida | 2,128 | $1.2 billion |
| North Carolina | 1,941 | $1.3 billion |
| Illinois | 1,361 | $762 million |
| Alabama | 1,290 | $674 million |
| Michigan | 1,247 | $700 million |
| Washington | 1,214 | $743 million |
| New Jersey | 1,178 | $660 million |
| Arizona | 1,158 | $610 million |
| New Hampshire | 833 | $492 million |
| Georgia | 806 | $534 million |
| Minnesota | 806 | $496 million |
| Connecticut | 771 | $443 million |
| Oregon | 756 | $450 million |
| Utah | 751 | $484 million |
| New Mexico | 701 | $401 million |
| Indiana | 621 | $335 million |
| All other states and territories | 5,876 | $3.4 billion |
The programs reward staying power
3,969 companies with ten or more awards hold 64.7 percent of the dollars.
12,948 companies have only ever won one award, and together they hold 3.3 percent of the dollars. The companies that keep winning are the ones that keep proposing, year after year. For a founder who plans in years, that is good news.
Share of all dollars awarded, by how many awards a company has won, 1983 to 2025.
Source: SBIR.gov award data download . Companies are matched by name in the award data and grouped by award count. Shares are of total dollars.
Show the data
| Awards won | Companies | Share of dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1 award | 12,948 | 3.3% |
| 2 to 4 awards | 12,872 | 16.7% |
| 5 to 9 awards | 4,551 | 15.3% |
| 10 or more awards | 3,969 | 64.7% |
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.
Sources
- Administrator Loeffler Applauds SBIR-STTR Reauthorization (SBA news release 26-43, April 13, 2026), U.S. Small Business Administration . Accessed October 15, 2026.
- Participating Federal Agencies, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
- SBIR.gov award data download (no-abstract CSV), all agencies, 1983 to 2026, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
- About SBIR and STTR, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
- Small Business Program Basics, National Institutes of Health, NIH SEED . Accessed October 15, 2026.
- America's Seed Fund, powered by NSF, U.S. National Science Foundation . Accessed October 15, 2026.
- SBIR/STTR Programs, Office of Science notice on reauthorization, U.S. Department of Energy . Accessed October 15, 2026.
- NASA SBIR/STTR, solicitation schedule (last updated October 14, 2026), National Aeronautics and Space Administration . 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 list of agencies, topics and deadlines.