The congressional shift will bring new funding negotiations. For deep-tech founders, I would focus on understanding what your current funders can support and building more options for the company.
SBIR/STTR is authorized through September 2031. Annual funding and award timing still require attention, including what happens when the current continuing resolution expires December 11. CRS reauthorization overview, CRS funding overview
Here are three moves I would make.
1. Get closer to the people responsible for your funding
At agencies you already pursue, talk with program officers, program directors, and the designated grants or contracting contacts. Follow each opportunity’s communication rules.
Ask whether priorities have changed, whether funding is available for your proposed work, and what award timing is realistic. Give official guidance and those conversations more weight than rumors. Agency staff may not know the final budget either, so separate what they can confirm from what remains uncertain.
Our team has seen this approach reveal opportunities founders would otherwise have missed and contribute to proposals receiving funding. Understanding the agency’s actual needs can change which project you pursue and how you position it.
Ask specifically how another short continuing resolution, repeated extensions, a full-year CR, or a shutdown would affect your opportunity. The answer may differ by program.
2. Find the other funders your technology could serve
We have worked with companies that thought they had one funding opportunity. After examining their technology and its applications, we found seven or eight worth evaluating.
That creates more chances to pursue funding, provided each opportunity has a credible fit. It also gives the company options when one program changes direction or an award is delayed.
I have talked with many founders whose defense strategy centers on the Army because that is where they have a connection. If their technology solves a problem the Navy or Air Force also faces, they should be having those conversations too.
The same applies within NIH. Another institute or center may care about a different application of the technology.
Each funder needs its own mission case. BW&CO helps companies identify those possibilities and determine which deserve a serious pursuit. Multiple federal opportunities still share some budget risk, which is why agency diversification is only part of the strategy.
3. Pursue private investment alongside non-dilutive funding
Some of the strongest companies I have spoken with actively pursue both. They are raising millions in private capital while pursuing millions in grants.
The combination should follow the company’s milestones. Grants can support defined research projects. Equity can provide flexibility for work outside those projects and help the company manage funding gaps. Each brings obligations and tradeoffs.
Our role is to build the non-dilutive funding plan around those milestones, so proposal pursuits support the company’s broader financing strategy.
At your next funding review, identify the official information you still need, another funder worth investigating, and how you will finance the next milestone if an expected award arrives late.
About the author
Josiah Wegner is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Defense Strategy at BW&CO. Read Josiah’s profile.
Program names are used for identification only. BW&CO is not affiliated with or endorsed by the sponsoring agencies.