SBIR Phase I Winners and Award History

According to the SBIR.gov Data Resources page (opens in a new tab), the main public data categories are solicitations and topics, awards, and companies that have won awards. The same page says every SBIR/STTR award since the program's inception is available for download, and that award data can be downloaded from the awards page or obtained through the award API. The SBIR.gov API page (opens in a new tab) says the award API can return fields such as firm, award title, agency, branch, phase, program, award year, award amount, state, PI, and award link, but the page still stated on October 18, 2026 that the APIs are undergoing maintenance.

According to Grants.gov, the API guide (opens in a new tab) says public search2 and fetchOpportunity endpoints do not require authentication. A search2 query for SBIR Phase I returns live opportunity-search hits, and the number changes as notices post and close. Those hits are not winner counts.

Where official sources stop: SBIR.gov owns all-agency SBIR/STTR award data. Grants.gov owns opportunity search. NSF Award Search, NIH RePORTER, DOE award pages, and DOD component sources add agency detail. Grantsights adds the applicant decision layer: which agency, which phase, what amount, what winner pattern, and whether writing time is justified.

The method that matters is reading three sources together: opportunity source, winner source, and agency-specific review source. Many SBIR applicants start in the wrong source. The official opportunity portal tells them what is open. SBIR.gov tells them who won. The agency solicitation tells them what reviewers want. A strong go/no-go screen needs all three.

The wrong source order creates weak proposals. A founder sees a broad federal listing, writes around the product vision, and only later checks whether past winners in that agency had the same project stage, technical risk, and customer path. Winner history should come before the full draft, not after it.

7 SBIR Phase I Winner Sources To Check

For example, a medical-device company shouldn't use an NSF sample to decide NIH fit. NIH has institute-specific study sections, clinical-trial rules, and health-product development expectations. A deep-tech materials company shouldn't use an NIH sample to decide NSF fit. SBIR Phase I is one label, but each agency buys down different risk.

Next route: Use the SBIR complete guide, SBIR Phase I grant guide, NSF SBIR guide, NIH SBIR/STTR guide, SBIR agencies comparison, and the Grantsights grant database before choosing an agency.

8 NSF Sample Records For SBIR Phase I

Because the SBIR.gov API is still under maintenance, this page uses an NSF Awards API sample to show the award-history pattern. Each row below was confirmed against the NSF Awards API on October 18, 2026. Seven are SBIR Phase I awards; Clarus Labs' award is titled STTR Phase I. The sample is not an all-agency SBIR total.

Grantsights analysis of the NSF Awards API, pulled October 18, 2026, groups NSF SBIR and STTR Phase I awards by the calendar year of the award date. SBIR and STTR are split by award title.

The medians track NSF's cap. In 2024, 156 of 286 awards were exactly $275,000, the cap at the time. In 2025, 95 of 183 were exactly $305,000 and 164 were $300,000 or more. California led both years (80 awards in 2024 and 36 in 2025), with Massachusetts second (34 and 21).

Don't read the 2025 drop as a lapse effect alone. NSF made no Phase I awards after September 11, 2025, and SBIR/STTR authority lapsed on October 1, 2025. But October through December 2024 had only 12 Phase I awards, so most of the 103-award fall happened earlier in the year. For federal fiscal-year counts (195 in FY2025 and 86 in FY2026), state shares and topic areas, see the NSF SBIR Phase I winners guide.

Those numbers should inform budget posture, not replace agency rules. A DOD topic may have a different amount and customer expectation. NIH may have a different institute, clinical, and review frame. DOE topics can be narrower and more topic-driven. NSF is a useful sample because its API was reachable, but it is not the whole SBIR market.

5 Agency Differences Winner Tables Can Hide

For example, a software startup may look like a good SBIR applicant in a broad search. If the software is ordinary workflow automation, NSF may see too little technical risk. If it supports a biomedical endpoint, NIH may be a better route. If it solves a defense component problem, DOD may be better. The winner table is useful only after agency fit is clear.

What SBIR Phase I Winners Doesn't Tell You

Winner data is useful, but it is easy to misuse.

For example, a company may see that 164 of 183 NSF Phase I awards in 2025 were $300,000 or more and decide to ask for the cap. That is not enough. The team still needs a work plan that justifies the budget, a technical risk that requires R&D, and a credible commercial path.

According to NSF, Phase I funding can support R&D work, not ordinary sales activity. According to Grants.gov, opportunity search can identify current notices, but it does not decide agency fit. In practice, the winner-history step changes the decision when it shows a mismatch between the applicant's project stage and the agency's prior award pattern.

6-Step SBIR Phase I Winner Research Checklist

This checklist prevents a common error: using a broad SBIR winner list to justify an agency that does not fit. SBIR is a government-wide program, but awards are made by agencies with different goals.

5 Rules For SBIR Winner Research

Use this rule set before any paid consultant or database work starts. If the agency, phase, and winner-source method are still unclear, the team is not ready for a full proposal draft.

4 Apply, Wait, Or Skip Calls

For broader guidance, compare this page with SBIR first-time applicant guide, SBIR commercialization plan guide, NSF SBIR Phase I winners, and SBIR Phase 2 guide.

SBIR Program Status Before You Use 2025 Winner Data

2025 winner history comes from a year that ended with the program in limbo. SBIR/STTR authority lapsed on October 1, 2025. Congress reauthorized both programs on April 13, 2026 (P.L. 119-83) through September 30, 2031. The reauthorization adds per-company proposal caps starting in FY2027, and NIH notice NOT-OD-26-090 (opens in a new tab) already limits each small business to nine new and resubmission Phase I, Fast-Track, and Direct to Phase II applications to HHS per fiscal year, for due dates on or after April 13, 2026.

That changes how to read the sample. A company that submitted many proposals a year in the past should plan fewer, stronger ones. Phase I caps also differ by agency. NSF Phase I runs up to $305,000. According to SBIR.gov (opens in a new tab), as of October 16, 2026 agencies may issue a Phase I award up to $335,937 and a Phase II award up to $2,239,578 without SBA approval, but each agency can set a lower cap. Check the current solicitation for your agency before using any past amount.

Use this page to plan SBIR winner research, then check the free Grantsights eligibility checker and the SBIR Phase I grant guide when a specific agency route is under serious consideration.

Sources

• SBIR.gov Data Resources - sbir.gov (opens in a new tab)
• SBIR.gov Award API documentation - sbir.gov (opens in a new tab)
• SBIR.gov awards page - sbir.gov (opens in a new tab)
• Grants.gov API guide - grants.gov (opens in a new tab)
• Simpler.Grants.gov search - simpler.grants.gov (opens in a new tab)
• NSF Award Search - nsf.gov (opens in a new tab)
• NSF Awards API - api.nsf.gov (opens in a new tab)

Related Guides

• SBIR grants complete guide
• SBIR Phase I grant guide
• NSF SBIR guide
• NIH SBIR/STTR guide
• SBIR agencies comparison
• How to write an SBIR proposal
• NSF SBIR Phase I winners