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What Is SBIR/STTR? A 5-Minute Primer for First-Time Applicants
SBIR and STTR award billions a year in non-dilutive R&D funding to small businesses. Here is what the programs are, the three phases, and why most companies never apply.
If you run an innovative small business, there is a good chance the U.S. government will help fund your R&D — without taking a single share of equity.
The programs
SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) are federal programs that award non-dilutive funding to small businesses doing high-risk, high-reward research. Eleven federal agencies participate — including the Department of Defense, NSF, NASA, the Department of Energy, and NIH — and together they award billions of dollars every year. STTR works like SBIR but requires you to partner with a research institution, such as a university.
Non-dilutive means you keep your company
Unlike venture capital, this money is closer to a grant. You do not give up equity, board seats, or control, and you keep your IP. For a founder, that is the difference between owning your company and renting it back from investors.
The three phases
- Phase I — proof of concept. Smaller awards (often under $250K) to show feasibility.
- Phase II — full R&D. Larger awards (often $1M and up) to build the thing.
- Phase III — commercialization. Move to market, often with follow-on government contracts.
Why most companies never apply
The opportunities are scattered across dozens of agency portals. The solicitations are dense, and the compliance rules are unforgiving — miss a page limit or a required section and your proposal is rejected unread. Most great companies simply do not have the time, so they leave the money on the table.
That is the problem RFP Pipeline was built to solve: expert-curated opportunities and AI-drafted, compliance-checked proposals, so a small team can actually compete.
Not sure whether you qualify? See the eligibility checklist.