Accelerating innovation for national impact
The U.S. National Science Foundation Tech Accelerators initiative was launched in 2026 to transform research outputs from basic research into scalable, market-ready technologies that strengthens the U.S. economy and national security in deep technology areas. Responsive to Sec. 10389 of the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022" and aligned with NSF Directorate for Technology Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) priorities, NSF Tech Accelerators are delivering a new innovation model that unites government, industry, academia and others to fill a critical gap in the U.S. innovation enterprise.
NSF is investing in a set of technology-focused NSF Tech Accelerators to solve market needs with deep domain and technology acceleration expertise, as well as commercialization. Each NSF Tech Accelerator is focused on advancing a deep technology area currently under-invested at the pre-seed, seed and Series A stages; and demonstrates viability for these areas by, in part, “crowding in” investment from venture and other funders over time by removing commercialization barriers and addressing ecosystem- and technology-specific gaps to ensure transformative technologies reach Americans everywhere faster.
Each NSF Tech Accelerator-funded team benefits from comprehensive guidance and support throughout the entire lab-to-market pathway. This includes strategic partnerships and commercialization resources focused on customer discovery, human-centered design, pitching, product-market fit and other entrepreneurial skills, helping research teams take their deep technologies to the next level. With fast-paced, clear research milestones and actionable outcomes and impact (e.g., patents, licensing, pilots and demos, entity formation, forming industry partnerships and customer growth), the initiative advances translation at speed and scale, strengthening U.S. resilience in key technology areas.
Why it matters
The NSF Tech Accelerators initiative fills a critical gap in the U.S. innovation enterprise. Often, traditional research experiences challenges traversing from the lab to market—the so-called "valley of death,"—leaving promising ideas and technologies too risky for private capital investment or otherwise stranded before entering the market.
To address this gap, the NSF Tech Accelerators change that by providing a flexible, technology-first framework that supports a team's ability to design, build and scale novel, deep technologies for the market. The initiative intends to fund organizations, leveraging partnerships across government, industry, academia and philanthropy, which will invest in promising technologies with the goal of unleashing new technological advancements. By "taking multiple translational shots on goal," the NSF Tech Accelerators will, in turn, strengthen U.S. competitiveness within specific key technology topics.