What is Small Business Innovation Research Grant?

Mission of the SBIR program is to stimulate innovation and U.S. economy
Open to U.S.-owned and operated for-profit companies with <500 employees
Funds the R&D that leads to a product (not manufacturing, marketing)
Mandatory 2.5% set-aside in 10 federal agencies

Funding hase 1 ($100,000, 6 months) -> Phase 2 ($750,000, 2 years)
$1.5B among 5,000 grants in 2002. Over 20 years, $15.5B among 57,921 grants to 14,329 different companies
SBIRs have resulted in 41,000+ issued patents (1982-)

Advantages: no equity, not paid back

Qualifications:
Principal Investigator (PI) needs to be qualified to lead research (Ph.D., MD)
Time and effort to write
9+ months from submission to get cash
10+ month delay between Phase 1 and Phase 2
Limitations in spending (no marketing, no patents)

Each agency runs its program independently and differently (NIH vs. DOD)