DARPA SBIR Window

DARPA’s next Small Business Innovation Research window opens May 6 and closes June 3, giving startups 28 days to file proposals for new defense research topics. (darpa.mil) The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency posted the topics in pre-release on April 13, 2026, with entries on its site showing the same May 6 open date and June 3 close date for this round. DARPA’s topics page lists multiple opportunities across its Biological Technologies and Microsystems Technology offices, plus at least one Small Business Technology Transfer topic. (darpa.mil) DARPA says a typical Phase I award is $250,000 over about six months, and a typical Phase II award is $1.8 million over 24 to 36 months. Roland Owens, who tracks the program, said this window includes “nine-plus” pre-release topics and cited Phase II awards up to $1.75 million. (darpa.mil) (x.com) Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, is the federal program that pays small companies to test early technical ideas and then build them into prototypes. DARPA calls SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer its largest source of early-stage technology financing and says it releases research topics monthly to connect small firms to larger defense programs. (darpa.mil) The pre-release period is the only stretch when companies can talk directly with topic authors before proposals open. DARPA says direct communication is encouraged during pre-release, but once the open period begins, proposers must use written questions through the contact listed in the topic instructions. (darpa.mil) That timing pushes work to the front of the calendar. DARPA says proposals that miss formatting or submission requirements are screened out as non-responsive before technical review, and all proposals must be filed electronically through the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal. (darpa.mil) The current topic list shows how broad the window is. One Biological Technologies topic seeks an autonomous blood collection and transfusion device, another targets finger restoration after trauma, and a third asks for medical products that work across both humans and military working dogs. (darpa.mil 1) (darpa.mil 2) DARPA’s site also shows a Microsystems Technology topic on photonic-electronic panel integration and an STTR topic on medical swarm robotics for battlefield care. Under DARPA’s rules, STTR projects require a formal partnership with a university or other nonprofit research institution, while SBIR projects do not. (darpa.mil 1) (darpa.mil 2) One complication sits outside DARPA itself. SBIR.gov still carries a notice saying the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs expired on September 30, 2025, while DARPA’s own site says the programs were reauthorized as of April 13, 2026. (sbir.gov) (darpa.mil) For companies that want in, the practical deadline starts before May 6. By the time the portal opens, the teams with customer calls done, questions asked, and proposal volumes drafted will be the ones racing the clock instead of the calendar. (darpa.mil)