NSF National Innovation Corps Teams (NSF National I-Corps (TM) Teams) program
The NSF National I-Corps Teams program helps NSF-funded researchers turn scientific discoveries into marketable technologies by providing entrepreneurial training, mentoring, and funding support.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: October 2, 2076 (Application deadline) | Rolling (Proposals accepted anytime)
Funding Amounts: $50,000 awards for 12 months; approximately $12 million in total program funding
Summary: Entrepreneurial education, mentoring, and customer-discovery funding to assess the commercial potential of foundational science and engineering innovations.
Key Information: Teams must receive written authorization from an NSF I-Corps Program Officer before submitting a full proposal.
Description
The NSF National I-Corps Teams program supports researchers exploring whether discoveries in foundational science and engineering can become products, processes, or services. Run through NSF’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, it combines entrepreneurial education, mentoring, and funding to help teams assess deep-technology commercialization opportunities and potentially attract third-party funding. The program also encourages collaboration between academia and industry.
Teams participate in an exclusively online curriculum, including immersion training, weekly meetings, and a closing presentation. Their principal activity is customer discovery: interviewing potential customers and partners to test product-market fit and the wider business model. Expected outcomes include a clear decision about the path forward, evidence identifying customer segments and value propositions, and a technology-demonstration narrative for potential partners and investors.
