America's Seed Fund, powered by the National Science Foundation (NSF), funds early-stage technology across many fields. Between fiscal years 2016 and 2024, it made more than 4,000 awards to startups and small businesses. Each year, it funds roughly 400 companies "across nearly all technology areas and market sectors." This post covers what the fund supports, who is eligible, how to find the right topic, and how the process works. Unless another source is named, the facts come from the NSF "What We Fund" page at https://seedfund.nsf.gov/what-we-fund/ and the topic and application pages linked from it.
Scale and reach
More than 4,000 awards over nine fiscal years shows that the fund is a large, ongoing program. The roughly 400 companies funded each year show that it is not limited to a narrow niche.
The NSF page names two exclusions: clinical trials and Schedule I controlled substances. The Biological Technologies topic page adds a narrower rule. Its sub-topics are not aimed at clinical trials, clinical efficacy or safety studies, or the development of pre-clinical or clinical-stage drug candidates or medical devices. The same page says limited studies with human subjects may be acceptable to the extent that they support feasibility, such as proof-of-concept studies of early-stage technologies. Founders in health-related fields should read the exact topic page before they plan a project.
Who can apply
According to the NSF application page at https://seedfund.nsf.gov/apply/get-started/, a company must meet these conditions. The topic pages list the same rules.
- It must be a small business with fewer than 500 employees, located in the United States.
- At least 50% of its equity must be owned by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The NSF does not fund companies majority-owned by multiple venture capital firms, private equity firms, or hedge funds.
- All funded work, including work by consultants and contractors, must take place in the United States.
- The principal investigator, who is the company's tech lead, must be legally employed at least 20 hours a week by the company. The principal investigator does not need an advanced degree.
- The principal investigator must commit at least one month (173 hours) of work on the funded project for every six months of project duration.
These rules are simple to check early. A founder who meets them can focus on the technical fit.
Choosing a topic area
The fund organizes its work into 28 topic areas, each with its own sub-topics. The main page lists them as follows: Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Materials, Advanced Systems for Scalable Analytics, Agricultural Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Virtual and Mixed Reality, Biological Technologies, Biomedical Technologies, Chemical Technologies, Cloud and High-Performance Computing, Cybersecurity and Authentication, Digital Health, Energy Technologies, Environmental Technologies, Human-Computer Interaction, Instrumentation and Hardware Systems, Internet of Things, Learning and Cognition Technologies, Medical Devices, Mobility, Pharmaceutical Technologies, Photonics, Power Management, Quantum Information Technologies, Robotics, Semiconductors, Space, and Wireless Technologies.
Sub-topics are often where the real fit is decided. For example, Advanced Manufacturing lists sub-topics such as Carbon Sequestration, Cybermanufacturing, Distributed Manufacturing, Quantum Device Manufacturing, and Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing. Biological Technologies lists sub-topics such as Aquaculture, Bioinstruments and Biosensors, Microbiome and Microbial Diversity, and Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering.
A company that builds a sensor and the software that reads it may need to choose between topics. A hardware sensor could fit under Instrumentation and Hardware Systems, while the analytics layer could fit under Advanced Systems for Scalable Analytics. The NSF offers a searchable PDF of the full topic list, with sub-topic descriptions, at https://seedfund.nsf.gov/assets/files/applicants/combined-topics.pdf.
How proposals are judged
The Biological Technologies, Digital Health, and Robotics topic pages all list the same three evaluation criteria: Technological Innovation, Broader Impacts, and Commercial Potential. A founder should plan to address all three in a proposal.
Learning from awardees
The NSF page links to lists of active Phase I awardees and active Phase II awardees, and to a list of all awards from the last ten years. These lists show which companies the fund has backed. A founder can use them to see how funded projects describe their work and which sub-topics they chose.
The featured companies show the range of results. Azitra engineers bacteria to treat skin disease. Squishy Robotics builds shape-shifting robots that provide real-time data in disasters. Topic pages also feature Living Ink Technologies, which is developing ink from algae cells; Miromatrix Medical, which is developing bio-engineered organs for transplant; Righthand Robotics, which is developing a robot that can pick and place thousands of products; and Diligent Robotics, which created "Moxi," a robot that supports clinical staff in acute care hospitals.
How the process works
The NSF application page describes three steps. First, a founder submits a Project Pitch at any time, and the page says a response usually arrives in about one to two months. Second, if the NSF invites a full proposal, the founder reviews the solicitations, registers the company, and submits the proposal. The page notes that proposals can be submitted at any time. Third, the page says a funding decision usually arrives about six months after submission.
Getting started
Begin with the full topic list at https://seedfund.nsf.gov/what-we-fund/. Find the topic and sub-topics that match your technology, and read the topic page for the eligibility rules and evaluation criteria. Then review the active Phase I and Phase II awardee lists in your area, check the eligibility rules against your company, and submit a Project Pitch to see whether the project fits.
Sources
- NSF America's Seed Fund, "What We Fund": https://seedfund.nsf.gov/what-we-fund/
- NSF America's Seed Fund, "How It Works - Get Started": https://seedfund.nsf.gov/apply/get-started/
- Biological Technologies topic page: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/topics/biological-technologies/
- Digital Health topic page: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/topics/digital-health/
- Robotics topic page: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/topics/robotics/
- Topic list PDF: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/assets/files/applicants/combined-topics.pdf
- Active Phase I awardees: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/awardees/phase-1/
- Active Phase II awardees: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/awardees/phase-2/
- All awardees, last 10 years: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/awardees/history/