SBIR & STTR Grants
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is one of the largest sources of early-stage funding for technology companies in the United States. With over $4 billion awarded annually, SBIR grants fund research and development across a wide range of industries — from defense and healthcare to energy and agriculture. Unlike traditional grants, SBIR awards are competitive contracts that let small businesses retain intellectual property rights to their innovations.
Use the free tool below to see open SAM.gov bids that match your business and presolicitations you can prepare for now. Then open a prepared dossier preview to see the match analysis, award history, pricing context, and AI-assisted next steps you can use when you find your own opportunities.
Free SAM.gov match preview · no account needed
See open bids and opportunities to prepare for
Enter your NAICS codes, service states, and set-asides to see how many SAM.gov bids are open now—and how many presolicitations or sources-sought notices could give you a head start. Your count is free. Create an account and choose a paid plan to search for your business and investigate full results.
Your SAM.gov count is only the starting point.
GovSentry's full Search also checks relevant state and local procurement portals using your business description and service areas. Those harder-to-find opportunities are additional to this SAM.gov-only preview.
Choose an industry suggestion or enter an exact six-digit NAICS code and select Add code.
Find your NAICS codesPro tip: include nearby states if you can travel. If you work remotely or ship nationwide, choose nationwide to widen the search.
This free first look counts SAM.gov notices. A paid search lets you investigate relevant notices and also checks state and local portals.
Prepared dossier preview
See the report exactly where customers use it
Explore a prepared GovSentry report preview. Where we have a historical notice or award, it is labeled as closed; otherwise the example is explicitly illustrative. The award comparisons, fit estimates, and AI guidance show the workflow—not verified facts about the same contract. Run Search for your company to apply these tools to current matches.
One example, not a contract-size ceiling
Your matched results can include simplified purchases and smaller service jobs, low-million-dollar contracts like this example, and larger prime or teaming opportunities. The mix depends on your NAICS codes, capabilities, certifications, and service area.
Be among the first to know when a matching opportunity arrives
GovSentry watches SAM.gov and harder-to-find state, local, and other public sources, then sends alerts matched to your company’s NAICS codes, capabilities, certifications, and service area.
GovSentryOpportunity Overview
Design and Build Covered Parking Structure for Fighter Aircraft
An illustrative construction dossier showing how a completed report organizes notice details, profile fit, award comparisons, and next steps. These example figures are not a verified current opportunity.
Target & Match Score92%
Eligibility Assessment
Eligible with verification items
Profile data indicates a fit; confirm all official solicitation requirements before pursuing.
NAICS alignment
NAICS 236220 appears in the prepared construction-company profile.
Small-business competition
This sample illustrates how a set-aside would be checked against a company profile.
SAM.gov registration
Verify the company UEI and registration renewal date before bidding.
Market Context
89
Records analyzed
$1.85M
Average award
$764K
Median award
Strong
Illustrative fit signal — not a win probability
Competition signal
Recent Department of Defense construction awards under $10M show a broad small-project market with meaningful small-business participation.
| Comparable market | Winner signal | Award value |
|---|---|---|
| Same NAICS and agency family | Example comparable awardee | $2.03M illustrative award |
| Historical award set | Multiple public winners | $764K median |
Related Award Context
Example comparable awardee
$2.03M illustrative award
A related awardee is market context, not proof that it held the exact requirement. A live dossier should link the award record and distinguish a confirmed prior contractor from a broader comparable.
Pricing Intelligence
$21.7K–$9.77M
Comparable range
$1.85M
Average
$764K
Median
The awarded value was $2.03M. Use that amount and the comparable-award distribution as context, then price the active solicitation from its actual drawings, labor, material, bonding, and schedule requirements.
Related Opportunities
Executive Summary
Recommendation: Pursue when scope and bonding fit. The prepared profile has strong NAICS, small-business, and geographic alignment. A contract near $2M is substantial but within reach for many established specialty and general contractors.
Market Context
⚠️ NAICS-Based Data Limitation: Market data includes all contracts under this NAICS code, which can range from $10K local projects to $1B+ specialized systems. Past award sizes and winners may not reflect this specific opportunity's scope. Always review the solicitation details to assess fit.
89 comparable awards were analyzed. The average award was $1.85M and the median was $764K. Recent Department of Defense construction awards under $10M show a broad small-project market with meaningful small-business participation..
Similar Contract Winners
These are comparable awards selected by available NAICS, agency, or location fields. The search can broaden to NAICS-only results, and cached awards can be older than two years. They are not confirmed predecessors for this solicitation.
⚠️ Note: Awards shown may be for vastly different scopes/sizes under the same NAICS category. A $500M system and a $50K service contract can share the same NAICS code.
Related award context: Example comparable awardee — $2.03M illustrative award. A related awardee is market context, not proof that it held the exact requirement. A live dossier should link the award record and distinguish a confirmed prior contractor from a broader comparable.
Positioning Strategy
Lead with comparable design-build work, airfield or secured-facility experience, local subcontractor coverage, safety performance, and a schedule that minimizes disruption to flight operations.
Pricing Guidance
Comparable range: $21.7K–$9.77M. The awarded value was $2.03M. Use that amount and the comparable-award distribution as context, then price the active solicitation from its actual drawings, labor, material, bonding, and schedule requirements. Firm-fixed-price design-build construction; validate scope before using historical awards as a bid target.
Recommended Next Steps
Verify SAM.gov registration and the prepared profile
Review drawings, bonding, and site-access requirements
Research the awardee and comparable winners
Build a labor, material, and contingency model
Track related recompetes and new construction notices
📋 Important Disclaimers
- • Market data is indicative, not definitive
- • Always review the actual solicitation documents for requirements and scope
- • GovSentry scores and AI judgments are screening aids, not calibrated win probabilities
- • Follow linked source records for factual claims; some estimates have no direct source link
- • Past performance data may include contracts of different sizes under the same NAICS code
- • GovSentry provides intelligence to inform your decision—final pursuit decisions require your expertise
Prepared by GovSentry AI; review the underlying notice before acting.
Put this intelligence to work for your company
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Use all the NAICS codes in your company profile to uncover matching SAM.gov and beyond-SAM opportunities. Get complete dossier reports, eligibility checks, incumbent and pricing intelligence, AI-assisted next steps, and alerts when new matches arrive.
Prepared for sbir using an illustrative example.
Open the full dossier at normal sizeThe Three Phases of SBIR Funding
Phase I: Feasibility Study
Phase I awards typically range from $50,000 to $275,000 and last 6 to 12 months. The goal is to establish the technical merit and feasibility of your proposed innovation. This is where you prove the concept works. Roughly 20% of Phase I proposals are funded, though rates vary by agency.
Phase II: Research and Development
Phase II awards range from $500,000 to $1.5 million over two years. You develop the prototype based on Phase I results. Only Phase I awardees are eligible, and the selection rate is higher than Phase I since the pool is smaller and the technology is already validated.
Phase III: Commercialization
Phase III has no set funding limit and involves transitioning the technology to the marketplace. This phase may involve production contracts, additional R&D, or sales to government and commercial customers. No separate SBIR funds are allocated for Phase III — funding comes from the agency's operational budget or private investment.
Participating Agencies
Eleven federal agencies participate in the SBIR program, each with their own research priorities and solicitation schedules. The Department of Defense (DoD) is the largest participant, followed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Other participating agencies include the Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, USDA, EPA, Department of Commerce (DoC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Department of Education (ED).
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for an SBIR award, your company must be a for-profit business organized in the United States, majority-owned by U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and employ fewer than 500 people. The principal investigator must be primarily employed by your company at the time of the award. These requirements ensure that SBIR funding reaches the small businesses it was designed to support.
STTR: The Research Partnership Track
The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program is closely related to SBIR but requires a formal partnership with a university or nonprofit research institution. At least 30% of the work must be subcontracted to the research partner. STTR is ideal when your innovation depends on academic research or specialized laboratory capabilities that your company does not have in-house.
Finding SBIR Solicitations
Open SBIR solicitations are published on SBIR.gov, SAM.gov, and individual agency portals. Each agency releases solicitations on its own schedule — the DoD typically posts topics two to three times per year, while NIH operates on a rolling basis. Tracking all of these sources manually is time-consuming, which is why many small businesses miss relevant opportunities.
GovSentry monitors SBIR.gov, SAM.gov, and agency-specific portals automatically. When a new SBIR or STTR solicitation matches your NAICS codes and capabilities, you receive an alert with a relevance score and AI-generated bid strategy — so you can focus on writing proposals instead of searching for them.
Stop searching. Start winning SBIR awards.
GovSentry finds SBIR and STTR solicitations that match your business and delivers them with AI-powered bid intelligence.