What the state is funding
Open federal grant opportunities - what the US government is asking someone to build, with a deadline - and NSF awards, which show where research money actually lands. Both are classified into the same taxonomy as the companies, so public priorities and startup supply can be read against each other.
1,419
open opportunities
165
close within 30 days
6,083
NSF awards tracked
$5.1B
awarded in those grants
Where public and private attention diverge
Share of startup-relevant federal items in each cluster against the share of recent (2024+) accelerator companies. A long bar with few companies is a field the state is pushing and founders are not.
| Cluster | Federal attention | Opportunities | Awards | Startups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare and bio | 149 | 1428 | 510 | |
| AI infra and compute | 16 | 227 | 188 | |
| Data for AI | 11 | 178 | 185 | |
| Robotics and physical world | 9 | 304 | 488 | |
| Climate and energy | 29 | 174 | 335 | |
| Defense and space | 26 | 47 | 123 | |
| Security and compliance | 35 | 53 | 201 | |
| Developer tools | 3 | 119 | 266 |
The other direction - founders far ahead of federal money: Vertical AI agents, Fintech, B2B SaaS, Consumer, Agent infrastructure.
Closing soon, startup-relevant
Open opportunities a small company could realistically answer, by deadline.
National Institutes of Health · Healthcare and bio · research commercialization hubs
National Institute of Food and Agriculture · Robotics and physical world · Agricultural innovation
Environmental Protection Agency · Climate and energy · diesel emissions reduction
National Institutes of Health · Healthcare and bio · SBIR/STTR for clinical research
National Institutes of Health · Healthcare and bio · Small business clinical innovation
National Institutes of Health · Healthcare and bio · Medical device prototyping
National Institutes of Health · Healthcare and bio · SBIR commercialization for clinical trials
National Institutes of Health · Healthcare and bio · SBIR clinical development and trials
Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy · Climate and energy · Early-stage energy technology development
SBIR & STTR: state-funded startups
NIH pays small companies to build products through SBIR/STTR: 1034 companies, 1280 awards, $705M in the tracked window. 458 are phase II - teams that already delivered a phase I. These are competitor lists and acquisition targets, not just grants.
Advancing High-Density Carbon Fiber Electrode Arrays for Commercial Neurotechnology Applications
SBIR phase II · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-25
IND-enabling development of MM012, an antibody-based non-hormonal contraceptive intravaginal ring
SBIR phase II · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-25
Phase 2: Development of an endocannabinoid microparticle formulation for the topical treatment of cutaneous manifestations of lupus erythematosus
SBIR phase II · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-25
Novel macrophage repolarization therapy for colorectal cancer
SBIR phase I · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-25
Development of a PET Imaging Platform to De-Risk AAV Gene Therapy Clinical Trials
SBIR phase I · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-25
An Electronic Grip Gauge (EGG) for Rehabilitating and Assessing Fine Sensorimotor Hand Function After Stroke
STTR phase I · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-25
EC16 Nanoparticles: Bridging Oral Health and Alzheimer's Prevention via FAST Nanotechnology
STTR phase I · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-24
Development of an Anti-Nerve Growth Factor Active Immunotherapy for Difficult-to-Manage Pain
SBIR phase I · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-24
Cardiovascular Safety and Scalable Manufacturing for Investigational New Drug Filing of a Novel Oral Drug to Accelerate Musculoskeletal Recovery in Older Adults
SBIR phase II · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-23
IND-enabling program for novel stimulant FBD-400
SBIR phase II · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-23
Use of an Innovative Pre-Formed Structural Scaffold for Reconstruction of Segmental Bone Loss in a Zygomaticomaxillary Complex Model
SBIR phase II · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-23
Fibrinogen-coated albumin spheres to accelerate bone healing in older adults
SBIR phase II · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-23
Scalable Non-viral Gene Delivery for Neuromuscular Diseases
SBIR phase II · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-23
Optimization of brain-permeable CK2 inhibitors to inhibit neuroinflammation and metabolic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease
SBIR phase I · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-23
Brain-targeted antibody for Alzheimer's disease therapy
STTR phase I · Healthcare and bio · started 2026-09-23
Biggest recent awards
Where the largest cheques went in fields with commercial potential.
- QLCI: Quantum Sensing for Biophysics and Bioengineering (QUBBE)University of Chicago · Healthcare and bio$38M
- NAIRR-OC: Advancing AI Discovery and Innovation for the NationUniversity of California-San Diego · AI infra and compute$35M
- STC: Center for Human and Robot Co-AdaptationUniversity of Texas at Austin · Robotics and physical world$30M
- QLCI: Manufacturable and Resilient Superconducting Quantum Information Systems (MARQUIS)Princeton University · AI infra and compute$28M
- Research Infrastructure: MIP: Autonomous Robotic Metallurgist: An NSF Materials Innovation Platform (ARM-MIP)Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station · Robotics and physical world$25M
- NSF AI Institute for Human-AI CooperationUniversity of Delaware · Horizontal AI assistants$22M
- NSF PCL-Test Bed: AI Science Foundry: A PCL Testbed Node to Accelerate Breakthroughs in Biology, Chemistry, and MaterialsCarnegie Mellon University · Vertical AI agents$20M
- PCL-Test Bed: Computation-Optimized Automated Soft materials Technology Programmable Cloud Laboratory Node (COAST PCL Node)University of California-Santa Barbara · Robotics and physical world$20M
- AI Institute for Advances in OptimizationGeorgia Tech Research Corporation · AI infra and compute$20M
- NSF PCL-Test Bed: AI-Driven, Rapid, Experimental Automation Machine (DREAM) Cloud Lab for Protein EngineeringNorthwestern University at Chicago · Healthcare and bio$20M
- NSF AI Institute in Dynamic SystemsUniversity of Washington · AI infra and compute$20M
- AI Institute for Engaged LearningNorth Carolina State University · Horizontal AI assistants$20M
- NSF PCL-Test Bed: AI-enabled, Cloud-based Self-Driving Nanofabrication Node for Accelerating Semiconductor Research and EducationVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Vertical AI agents$20M
- NSF PCL-Test Bed: SPEED: Programmable Cloud Laboratories for Autonomous Chemistry and Materials DiscoveryNorth Carolina State University · Vertical AI agents$20M
- PCL-Test Bed: PoLARIS: Polymer Laboratory for AI, Robotics, Informatics, and StandardsUniversity of Chicago · Data for AI$20M
By agency
Who is publishing the money.
- National Science Foundation4803 awards
- National Institutes of Health422 open · 2 awards
- NIH / NCI198 awards
- U.S. National Science Foundation184 open
- NIH / NIA149 awards
- NIH / NIAID138 awards
- NIH / NHLBI127 awards
- NIH / NIGMS103 awards
- NIH / NIDDK98 awards
- Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA97 open
- NIH / NINDS57 awards
- Bureau of Justice Assistance47 open
sources: grants.gov open opportunities · NSF award search · NIH RePORTER SBIR/STTR · synced daily · 7,497 items classified