NIST News: NIST Awards Over \$1.8 Million to Small Businesses

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NIST·nist.gov/news-events/news/2025/08/nist-awards-over-18-mil...

Credibility Rating

5/5

Gold(5)

Gold standard. Rigorous peer review, high editorial standards, and strong institutional reputation.

Rating inherited from publication venue: NIST

Tangentially relevant to AI safety as it reflects U.S. government funding priorities for AI R&D via SBIR; not focused on safety or alignment but illustrates federal AI innovation support mechanisms.

Metadata

Importance: 22/100press releasenews

Summary

NIST awarded over $1.8 million to 18 small businesses through Phase I SBIR grants in August 2025, funding six-month R&D projects in AI, semiconductors, additive manufacturing, and related technologies. Successful awardees can apply for Phase II funding of up to $400,000. This represents a federal mechanism for channeling innovation funding toward NIST's core research priorities.

Key Points

•18 small businesses received competitive Phase I SBIR awards totaling over $1.8 million from NIST in August 2025.
•Funded research areas include artificial intelligence, semiconductor devices, additive manufacturing, and standards development.
•Phase I projects run six months (Aug 2025–Jan 2026); successful awardees may apply for Phase II grants up to $400,000.
•Awards were competitively selected based on merit, feasibility, and commercial potential aligned with NIST research priorities.
•The program supports early-stage innovation in critical and emerging technologies relevant to U.S. competitiveness and standards.

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NIST Awards Over $1.8 Million to Small Businesses Advancing AI, Semiconductors, Additive Manufacturing and More | NIST 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
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 https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2025/08/nist-awards-over-18-million-small-businesses-advancing-ai-semiconductors

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 NEWS 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 NIST Awards Over $1.8 Million to Small Businesses Advancing AI, Semiconductors, Additive Manufacturing and More

 
 

 
 
 
 August 18, 2025 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
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 GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded over $1.8 million to 18 small businesses under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The awards will fund research and development of new products and services related to artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing, standards, semiconductor devices and other key technologies.

 The winning projects were competitively selected following a call for innovative proposals that address technical needs related to NIST’s research areas.

 These are all Phase I SBIR awards, which are designed to establish the merit, feasibility and commercial potential of the proposed research and development projects. Phase I projects cover a period of six months from Aug. 1, 2025, to Jan. 31, 2026, and once they are completed, awardees are eligible to apply for Phase II funding of up to $400,000 to continue their work.

 2025 Phase I SBIR Awardees 

 AAPlasma LLC (Grove City, Ohio) — $99,970
 Direct destruction of PFAS and other recalcitrant contaminants on filtration media via non-equilibrium plasma — to develop new technology that will allow wastewater treatment plants to destroy persistent contaminants such as PFAS in filtration media. The technology uses a dielectric barrier discharge plasma system to regenerate the filtration media on-site. This can reduce the high costs and inefficiencies associated with thermal reactivation or disposal, offering significant operational savings.

 Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc. (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) — $106,499
 Manufacturing and measurements of 3D-printed porous structures — pre-standardization research to assess the performance of 3D-printed porous structures used in heat transfer systems in spacecraft and satellites. Establishing standards for manufacturing and testing these structures is crucial 

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