The U.S. National Science Foundationβs Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) announced a $20 million investment to launch a two-year pilot that will provide support to small businesses in the commercialization of their late-stage deep-technology research and development. The pilot aims to address a persistent gap that separates federally funded deep technology research from commercial success. The investment ensures that the U.S. remains at the forefront of global innovation.
βNSF invests in small businesses that bring the most innovative cutting-edge technologies to the market and society,β says Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for TIP. βBy closing this gap that is known as the βvalley of death,β NSF aims to strengthen our commitment to translational research and further develop innovation ecosystems in the United States.β
The βvalley of deathβ refers to a stage at which a new technology innovation has been substantially de-risked but the technology has not yet been commercially proven, making it difficult to attract funding or other support needed to achieve commercial viability.
βNCTI builds on ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs growing national leadership in helping promising technologies become products, companies and economic growth.β β Alexander N. Cartwright, ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ president
βMany NSF-supported small businesses have the potential to become great commercial successes and contribute significantly to economic growth and job creation throughout the nation,β says Lesia Crumpton-Young, TIP section head for small businesses. βWe want to support small businesses to overcome the hurdles common to commercializing deep technology innovations.β
Led by the ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs National Commercialization and Translation Institute (NCTI), the pilot will examine the factors, conditions and approaches that lead to the successful transition of deep technology innovations to nationally impactful technologies.
The institute represents the latest evolution of a commercialization pipeline ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ has spent years developing. Through initiatives including the Southeast Hub of NSF I-Corps, NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) and the Florida Semiconductor Engine, ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ has helped researchers evaluate commercial opportunities, advance emerging technologies and strengthen regional innovation. NCTI will build on that foundation by expanding ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs commercialization efforts to companies nationwide.
ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems , principal investigator for NCTI, will lead the institute, which will provide commercialization funding, expert mentorship and investor connections to SBIR/STTR Phase II and Phase IIB funded companies, while evaluating which approaches most effectively help deep technology companies reach the marketplace.
βWe are grateful to the National Science Foundation for its continued confidence in ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ and for the opportunity to help shape the future of research translation and commercialization,β says ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ President Alexander N. Cartwright. βDiscovery reaches its greatest potential when it moves beyond the laboratory and improves lives, strengthens industries and creates opportunity. NCTI builds on ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs growing national leadership in helping promising technologies become products, companies and economic growth. With Central Floridaβs extraordinary concentration of talent, industry and innovation, ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ is well positioned to build a model that can deliver impact for Florida and across the nation.β
βΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs readiness to lead this national effort is anchored by our highly integrated entrepreneurial infrastructure critical in the ‘lab-to-market’ pipeline,β says Winston Schoenfeld, vice president for research and innovation. βNCTI will ensure that federally funded technologies successfully transition into investor-ready commercial enterprises.β
βProviding a βbridgeβ to support our late-stage NSF-funded companies will move their impactful innovation to the market more quickly and thereby benefit the national economy.β β Peter Atherton, program director for NSF Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer.
βA validated technology is a scientific achievement, but it isnβt yet a business. Many NSF SBIR Phase II companies hold genuinely de-risked technologies, yet still lack the business expertise, infrastructure, and capital access to turn that validation into a viable company,β Garibay says. βNCTI completes that pipeline rather than duplicating any part of it: we coordinate the full continuum of federal resources, managing the handoffs from I-Corps customer discovery through to commercialization support, so each company knows where it stands and what comes next.β
The pilot will support a select group of NSF-funded small businesses at the later stages of deep technology research and development through funding, mentoring, and connections, paired with concierge-level individualized support: diagnostic triage, an individualized commercialization plan, dedicated mentor teams, and curated introductions to customers, investors, industry, and national laboratories.
βProviding a βbridgeβ to support our late-stage NSF-funded companies will move their impactful innovation to the market more quickly and thereby benefit the national economy,β says Peter Atherton, program director for NSF Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer.
Each stage of the pilot will be structured and independently evaluated. Designed as a scalable model, the results of the pilot will determine whether to establish a long-term program.
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