If your startup, research team, or innovation-forward organization is waiting for the right moment to secure non-dilutive funding, this is it. From biomedical breakthroughs to next-gen defense tech, the federal agencies are rolling out the red carpet for big ideas.
Here’s your quick-start guide to what’s still open and worth keeping an eye on right now:
U.S. Department of Energy – SBIR 2025
The DOE SBIR/STTR 2025 cycle is now open, and it’s laser-focused on solving some of the world’s biggest challenges in energy and climate tech. If you’re developing clean energy, advanced materials, or grid innovation, stop what you’re doing and get your application rolling. US DOE SBIR 2025 Now Open
National Institutes of Health
- NIH SBIR/STTR: Ongoing opportunities across diagnostics, digital health, devices, and therapeutics. A gold mine for biomedical and health innovators. NIH SBIR Opportunities
- RADx® Tech Fetal Monitoring Challenge: Got disruptive technology for fetal and maternal health? Submit your solution and win funding support + recognition. NIH (RADx® Tech) Fetal Monitoring Challenge
U.S. Army
If your tech can serve national defense or soldier readiness, now’s your time to shine. The 2025 SBIR cycle is stacked with future-forward topics like:
- A254-025 Wearable Sensors to Monitor Environmental and Occupational Impacts to Brain Health
- A254-027 Low-Altitude Passive Detection System
- A254-028 Advanced Fiber-based Electronic Battery System
- A254-029 Predictive Simulation of Injury Progression
- A254-P026 xTechPacific Open Topic
- A254-P030 xTechOverwatch Open Topic
- A25D-007 Context-Aware Decision Support
- A25D-008 Advanced Fiber-based Electronic Battery System
- A25D-009 Predictive Simulation of Injury Progression
- A254-016 Innovative Operations for Treatment and Processing of Wastewater
- A254-017 Bridge Health Monitoring System
- A254-018 Novel AI Techniques for Insights in Various Environments (NATIVE)
- A254-019 Generative AI Enabled Tactical Network
- A254-020 Artificial Intelligence for Aided Driving of Ground Combat Vehicles
- A254-021 Ruggedized Sensors to Increase Driving Visibility and Vehicle Safety
- A254-022 AI Enabled Source Selection for Contract Proposal Evaluation
- A254-023 AI Enabled Portfolio Management
- A254-024 Context-Aware Decision Support
- A254-025 Wearable Sensors to Monitor Environmental and Occupational Impacts to Brain Health
- A254-P026 xTechPacific Open Topic Home Page
- A25D-005 Cognitive Terrain Flight Assistance
- A25D-006 Adaptive Filtering Techniques for Low-Cost RF Emitters
- A25D-007 Context-Aware Decision Support
Defense Health Agency
From microbial detection to battlefield ocular monitoring, the DHA is seeking high-impact, health-oriented technologies with a strong military application. Direct-to-Phase II options are open—yes, that means skipping Phase I in some cases.
- DHA252-001 Auxiliary Microbial Detection and Clinical Feature Identification for Medical Services Support
- DHA254-D001 Rapid Identification of Pathogens from Environmental Resources (Direct to Phase II)
- DHA254-DP001 Open Topic for Development of a Mobile Real Time Smart Monitoring System for Military Ocular Injuries (Direct to Phase II)
- DHA254-DP002 Open Topic for Outdoor Capable Perception System for Autonomous Medical Applications (Direct to Phase II)
U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
If your work touches supply chain resilience or materials science, explore these topics ASAP. The DLA is funding innovations in:
- DLA254-003 Domestic Sourcing of Gallium for various Military Applications
- DLA254-005 Advanced Technology for Extending Shelf Life of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables During Storage and Transportation
- DLA254-006 Extending the Shelf-Life of Rapid-Setting Cement for Military Applications
- DLA254-007 Advancing Testing and Analytics of Indicative and Conductive Material Seals for Near Real Time Tamper Detection
U.S. Navy
Your hardware or software could play a role in future maritime defense strategies. Talk about range. The current Navy SBIRs include:
- N252-074 Materials Optimization for 81mm M299 Ignition Cartridge System
- N252-075 Outboard Engine Replacement
- N252-076 Augmented Reality Vehicle Maintenance & Training System
- N252-077 Tactical Sled Loader (TSL) Material Handling System and Cargo Sled
- N252-078 Night Passive Aiming System
- N252-079 Binary-Level Automated Vulnerability Detection and Patching without Source Code
- N252-080 Multi-Spectral Quantum Dot Array
- N252-081 Intelligent Radio Access Network for Beyond 5G Resilient Tactical Network
- N252-082 Adaptive Bypass Valve for Solid Fuel Ramjet Missile
- N252-083 Novel High Performance and Multifunctional Sandwich Composite Structures
- N252-084 400 Gigabit High Speed Data and Video Communications
- N252-085 Development of Safe, Robust, Sodium-Ion Battery for Naval Aviation
- N252-086 Multimode Fiber Optic Multiplexer/Demultiplexer
- N252-087 Repair Solution for Optically Transparent Canopies and Windscreens
- N252-088 Advanced Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning-based Intelligent Agent for Finite Element Modeling of Aerospace Structures
- N252-089 Virtual Agent for Data Fusion and Understanding
- N252-090 Second Order Acoustic Vector Sensors
Don’t Miss These Other Federal Funding Paths:
- NSF America’s Seed Fund – ~$200M/year in early-stage funding America’s Seed Fund
- NASA has open needs around tech shortfalls. NASA Shortfall
- NOAA: Climate tech, oceanography, weather prediction, sustainable fisheries… if your innovation has an environmental impact, NOAA wants to hear from you. NOAA SBIR Opportunities
- DHS LRBAA Portal – Homeland Security innovations welcomed DHS Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Program
- BIRD HLS Program – Bilateral R&D funding with Israel (homeland security) BIRD HLS Call for Proposals
- DOD Training & CUI Requirements – If you’re applying to DoD, check your compliance now DOD Mandatory Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Training IF141.06
🚦Many of these deadlines are fast approaching.
Now is not the time to sit on your concept deck or let your SAM.gov registration lapse. If your work aligns with any of the open topics listed above, it’s time to take action. And if all this sounds exciting but a little overwhelming? 🗓️ Book a consultation with us
Ready To Take the Next Step?
We assist our clients in locating, applying for, and evaluating the outcomes of non-dilutive grant funding. We believe non-dilutive funding is a crucial tool for mitigating investment risks, and we are dedicated to guiding our clients through the entire process—from identifying the most suitable opportunities to submitting and managing grant applications.