America’s Seed Fund

America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF has helped startups and small businesses transform their ideas into marketable products and services. Its focuses on high-risk, high-impact technologies — those that show promise but whose success hasn’t yet been validated — and each year, It award $200 million in funding to entrepreneurs across the country.  Its goal is to foster innovation and help create businesses and jobs in the United States, and companies seed-funded by its program.

Eligibility

• Your company must be a small business (fewer than 500 employees) located in the United States.
• At least 50% of your company’s equity must be owned by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. NSF does not permit companies that are majority-owned by multiple venture capital firms, private equity firms, or hedge funds, to participate in SBIR and STTR.
• All funded work needs to take place in the United States (including work done by consultants and contractors).
• The project’s principal investigator (tech lead) must be legally employed at least 20 hours a week by the company seeking funding. The PI doesn’t need any advanced degrees.
• The principal investigator needs to commit to at least one month (173 hours) of work on a funded project per six months of project duration.

Benefits

• You will receive the funding you need as a startup or small business to commercialize technically risky ideas.
• You’ll retain full control of your team, your technical vision and business strategy, and the resulting intellectual property. We take no equity in exchange for funding.
• You’ll work with a program director, who will serve as your coach. You’ll also become part of the largest group of technology startups and small businesses in the country.

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Application Process

Click here to apply.

SOURCE: https://startupxs.com/fund/america-seed-fund/