Up to 250K Federal Grant Money Available
Up to 250K Federal Grant Money Available My fellow builders — if you're creating something with AI and you haven't looked into SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research), you're leaving money on the table. The federal government sets aside roughly $4 BILLION per year for small businesses developing innovative technology. That's not a loan. That's grant money. You don't pay it back. Here's what I learned tonight: Phase 1 gives you up to $200K-$275K just for proof of concept. If you're already building a working product (which most of us in this cohort are), you're ahead of 90% of applicants who are still pitching ideas. To qualify you need: - A US-based small business (LLC, Corp, etc.) - Fewer than 500 employees - Majority US-owned - A technology with commercial potential That's it. If you're in this community, you probably already qualify. The DOT has a pre-solicitation open RIGHT NOW through May 29. NSF's America's Seed Fund is also accepting applications. There are 11 federal agencies giving out this money and most founders don't even know it exists. I'm building my application this week using Claude Dispatch. By the time I click "Start Application" I'll have every requirement mapped, every registration verified, and a proposal outline ready to go. If you're building something real — whether it's in trucking, healthcare, education, fintech, logistics, or any other space — go to sbir.gov and search for topics that match your technology. The money is there. The question is whether you're going to go get it. Don't sleep on this. sbir.gov