NSF SBIR Phase I.
Up to $305,000.
No equity. No repayment.
Non-dilutive funding for US small businesses proving a breakthrough deep-tech innovation is technically feasible, in almost any sector. It starts with a short Project Pitch. We help you write it.
Is your company
a fit?
Phase I funds high-risk R&D to prove a breakthrough science- or engineering-based innovation is technically feasible. Almost any sector qualifies, against a specific deep-tech standard.
The test isn't whether the technology is interesting; it's whether it is both commercially meaningful and still technically unresolved enough for NSF to care.
- US for-profit small business, 500 employees or fewer, majority US-owned and controlled.
- A novel technical insight with genuine scientific or engineering uncertainty still to resolve.
- Hard to copy, with a credible route to a scalable business.
- A lead researcher with the right to work for you in the US, primarily employed by you. No PhD needed.
- Incremental improvement, or technology that already works and needs scaling.
- Majority-owned by VC, private-equity or hedge-fund investors.
- Clinical trials or clinical studies in the Phase I work.
- A university or external lab doing most of the research. That's STTR, not SBIR.
From 'is it worth it?' to submitted, in weeks not months.
The Grantify platform handles structure and compliance. Our specialists make the judgment calls and review every submission.
Match
Register free, answer questions about your business and technology, and get a named match with an indicative funding value. Minutes, not weeks.
Plan
A 20-minute call with a specialist who has seen your answers: whether NSF is the right agency, how your technical risk will read, and whether a Pitch by November 20 is realistic.
Apply
A specialist works on your Project Pitch with you, then on the full proposal when the invitation arrives: structured to what NSF reviewers score, and reviewed before anything is submitted.
You can't apply to the deadline. You Pitch first.
NSF screens every applicant with a short Project Pitch before it will read a proposal. We help you write the Pitch, then the proposal when your invitation arrives.
Project Pitch
Your technology, the unresolved technical risk, the market and the team. A specialist works on it with you inside a 14-day window then NSF answers in one to two months.
Full Phase I proposal
Structured against NSF's three criteria (Intellectual Merit, Broader Impacts, Commercial Potential), reviewed by a specialist, submitted at a fixed deadline. 42 days, start to submitted.
Award and funding
NSF decides four to six months after the deadline. Phase I runs 6 to 18 months, then Phase II up to $1.25 million for awardees.
Pitch by November 20 for the March 4 deadline.
Nobody submits a full proposal without an invitation, and NSF takes one to two months to answer a Pitch. Work it back from March 4, 2027: a Pitch in by around November 20 gives you an invitation by late January, which leaves Grantify's 42-day window for the proposal. The three federal registrations run in parallel while you wait.
Find out if NSF SBIR Phase I is yours to win.
Free registration. Named match and indicative funding in minutes. Pitch in by November 20 for the March 4 deadline.
Can I apply for the November 4 deadline?
Only with an invitation already in hand. Without one, the Pitch comes first, NSF takes one to two months to answer, and the next deadline you can realistically make is March 4, 2027.
We're VC-backed. Are we eligible?
Not if the business is majority-owned by venture-capital, hedge-fund or private-equity firms. Minority investment is fine as long as the company stays more than 50% owned and controlled by US citizens or permanent residents.
We're a medical technology company. NIH or NSF?
NSF if the Phase I work is technical and involves no clinical study. NIH if it needs clinical work, or sits squarely in a health institute's remit. NSF does not fund clinical trials or clinical studies through Phase I.
How long from Pitch to money?
Around seven to nine months overall: one to two months for the Pitch decision, then four to six months for NSF to decide the full proposal, with funding around five to seven months after the deadline.
Is what I share with Grantify confidential?
Yes. Your technology and IP stay yours. Everything you share with Grantify is confidential, used only to assess and prepare your application.
What does Grantify cost?
Registration, matching and your first call with a specialist are free. If the Pitch is worth making, we'll set out exactly what's included and what it costs before you commit to anything.
Grantify is an independent grant consultancy and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. National Science Foundation or any US federal agency. NSF makes all award decisions. Meeting eligibility does not guarantee funding. Amounts, dates and rules are taken from NSF solicitation 26-510, the authoritative source. Privacy Policy. Terms of Service. Copyright © 2026 Grantify, Inc.