The New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology (CSIT) announced that 37 early-stage companies have been awarded a total of $1,075,000 in funding as part of Round 3 of the Direct Financial Assistance component (Phase I&II) of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR). To date, the CSIT has awarded a total of $1.9 million to 66 Garden State companies during the program’s three funding rounds.
Each of these early-stage companies is currently engaged in the federal SBIR and/or STTR programs. The awards will fortify the state’s innovation economy by giving these New Jersey-based businesses the strength and resources they need to be competitive when participating in federal programs.
The federal SBIR and STTR grant programs provide more than $3 billion each year to small businesses in a variety of technology and life sciences areas that propose innovative ideas that meet specific federal research and development (R&D) needs.
This third round of the program awarded $1,075,000 million in grants to 37 New Jersey small businesses in two program components:
“Thanks to the resources from the CSIT SBIR/STTR Direct Financial Assistance Program, New Jersey is taking bold steps to achieve Governor Murphy’s goal of building the most competitive innovation ecosystem in the country,” said CSIT Chairman Gunjan Doshi.
CSIT Executive Director Judith Sheft noted that the number of awardees tripled from the 12 awardees in Round 1 to 37 in Round 3. Furthermore, 11 of the 37 companies have affiliations with four New Jersey research Universities through license agreements for innovative technologies.
“This program is helping to accelerate the growth of innovation-focused companies in New Jersey, and we are thrilled to see small businesses take advantage of these critical resources,” said Sheft. “During this latest round of funding, participating companies were able to leverage the SBIR grant to over $18 million in additional federal funding.”
The awardee’s focus areas fell into the following categories, all of which were identified in Gov. Phil Murphy’s economic development strategic plan as high-wage, high growth sectors: technology, life sciences, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing.
Thirty-one companies that have received federal SBIR/STTR Phase I, Fast-Track or Direct to Phase II awards/contracts were each awarded a grant of $25,000. The selected companies include:
Additionally, the following six New Jersey small businesses will each receive $50,000 bridge funding grants, as they have successfully completed Phase I and have applied for Phase II of the federal SBIR/STTR program.
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