- NSF is investing $20 million in a two-year pilot focused on commercializing federally funded deep technologies
- UCF’s National Commercialization and Translation Institute will lead the pilot
- The effort will help deep-tech companies move from research to commercially viable products and services
The National Science Foundation has committed $20 million in a two-year pilot designed to help small businesses move deep-technology innovations from federally funded research into commercial markets.
How Will UCF Lead the Commercialization Pilot?
Led by the University of Central Florida’s National Commercialization and Translation Institute, or NCTI, NSF said Monday the initiative seeks to address the persistent “valley of death” that can prevent promising technologies from progressing beyond research and development.
NCTI will administer and evaluate several forms of support for participating deep-tech companies, including commercialization funding, expert mentorship and connections with investors.
The institute will competitively select six to eight NSF Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II and IIB deep-tech companies for the pilot. The program will provide $16 million in participant commercialization support through milestone-based awards ranging from $1 million to $3.75 million per company.
NSF said the pilot is expected to generate rigorous evidence about the approaches that most effectively help deep-technology ventures progress toward commercialization. The findings will establish best practices for translating deep-tech research into technologies with national impact.
How Does the $20M Pilot Build on NSF’s Deep-Tech Funding Push?
The new commercialization pilot builds on NSF’s broader effort to accelerate deep-tech development through its SBIR/STTR programs. In May, NSF relaunched the programs with a $250 million investment supporting deep-tech startups and small businesses, including funding opportunities that can reach $30 million for select Phase II companies.
NSF said that over five years, $1.6 billion in NSF SBIR/STTR investments helped startups attract more than $36 billion in subsequent funding.
