Did You Know Small Businesses Can Get Big Funding?

Small businesses dealing with FOMO (fear of missing out) when it comes to new ideas or technologies can breathe easier with a NOFO (notice of funding opportunity) from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced a program to give small businesses the capital to explore the technical merit or feasibility of an innovative idea or technology to develop a viable product or service in the commercial microelectronics sector. The policy is part of the CHIPS for America program and will provide up to $54 million in funding for research projects to help secure American leadership in the semiconductor industry, according to a media release.

This funding opportunity is provided through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, the federal government’s largest platform to promote U.S. technology innovation research and private-sector commercialization. NIST is one of eleven federal government agencies that operate an SBIR program, the release states. 

“Small businesses have an important role to play in the semiconductor ecosystem,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Laurie E. Locascio, in the release. “NIST has long supported the SBIR program, and this funding opportunity dedicated to CHIPS Metrology will help give small businesses the opportunity to take innovative ideas, scale them for the commercial marketplace and boost the U.S. economy.”