What National Science Foundation does

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent U.S. federal agency established by Congress in 1950 that distributes competitive grant funding to support non-medical basic science and engineering research and education. NSF serves approximately 350,000 researchers, entrepreneurs, students, and teachers across 1,900+ organizations in all 50 states and U.S. territories, with a FY2024 enacted budget of $9.06 billion (93% of which flows directly to research, education, and related activities). Core offerings include the Graduate Research Fellowship Program ($37,000 stipend plus $16,000 tuition allowance for three years), America's Seed Fund (SBIR/STTR providing up to $2 million for deep-tech startups), the Convergence Accelerator (up to $5.75 million per team), Regional Innovation Engines (up to $160 million per region), and major infrastructure facilities such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), supercomputing centers, polar research stations, and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Operational platforms include Research.gov for proposal submission and award management, the NSF Award Search API, the Public Access Repository (PAR) for publications, and the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

NSF's business model is fundamentally different from commercial enterprises: revenue comes exclusively from annual congressional appropriations rather than product sales, with no equity dilution or revenue-recurring subscriptions in the private-sector sense. The go-to-market motion is direct-to-applicant: proposals are submitted through Research.gov or Grants.gov, evaluated through a two-tier merit review process assessing intellectual merit and broader impacts, and awards are made to institutions of higher education, nonprofits, and small businesses. Distribution is supported by program officer engagement, webinars, and the GovDelivery newsletter system. Recent strategic initiatives include NSF X-Labs ($1.5 billion over 10 years for breakthrough science), Tech Accelerators (deep-tech commercialization), the National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (quantum computing/networking/sensing partnerships with Boeing, Honeywell, IonQ, NVIDIA, and Quantinuum), and the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) now in permanent foundation status. Current disruption is severe: approximately 33% workforce reduction since January 2025, termination of all 22 National Science Board members, nearly 1,400 grants canceled, and a proposed 54% budget cut to $4 billion in FY2026/2027.

Name

National Science Foundation

Legal name

National Science Foundation

Website

https://www.nsf.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The National Science Foundation is an independent U.S. federal agency that distributes competitive grant funding to support non-medical basic science and engineering research, serving 350,000+ researchers, students, and educators across 1,900+ organizations via a $9.06 billion FY2024 congressional appropriation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Federal Research Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intergovernmental Affairs & Federal Grants Administration (BPAIAAAC), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Federal research funding
• Science and engineering grants
• Merit-based research awards
• STEM fellowships
• Research infrastructure support

Headquarters

HQ city

Alexandria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Congressional Appropriations: NSF is funded through annual congressional appropriations. NSF's Fiscal Year 2024 enacted budget was $9.06 billion, with 93% of budget supporting research, education and related activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent U.S. federal agency that provides competitive grants, cooperative agreements, and fellowships to support fundamental science and engineering research and education across all 50 states and U.S. territories. NSF administers programs such as the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), America's Seed Fund (SBIR/STTR), Convergence Accelerator, and Regional Innovation Engines, while also operating research infrastructure including supercomputing centers, polar research stations, and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Approximately 93% of its FY2024 budget of $9.06 billion is directed to research, education, and related activities.

Product overview

The National Science Foundation operates as a federal funding agency supporting science and engineering research across all 50 U.S. states and territories, with a $9.06 billion FY2024 budget. NSF's primary offerings include America's Seed Fund (SBIR/STTR) providing up to $2 million for deep-tech startups, the Convergence Accelerator offering up to $5.75 million for transdisciplinary teams, Regional Innovation Engines providing up to $160 million for regional innovation ecosystems, and the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) providing three-year stipends. Major initiatives include the NSF X-Labs ($1.5 billion over 10 years for breakthrough science), Tech Accelerators (deep-tech commercialization), and the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) providing AI research infrastructure. NSF also manages large research facilities including supercomputing centers, the Antarctic Program, and ocean observatories. Research tools include Research.gov for proposal submission and award management, Award Search for finding funded projects, and the Public Access Repository (PAR) for publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research.gov

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of budget directly supports research, education and related activities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• iFixitcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2026Partnership to develop a voluntary repairability scoring standard for U.S. electronics, adapting EU methodology for the U.S. market and building frameworks using international standards like EN 45554 and IEC 63683-2.
• BoeingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026Partner company in NSF's National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program, working with five teams developing quantum sensors, networks, and computers under $20M collective funding.
• HoneywellminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026Partner company in NSF's National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program across more than two dozen U.S. companies collaborating on quantum technology projects.
• IonQminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026Partner company in NSF's National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program developing quantum computing and sensing technologies.
• NVIDIAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026Partner company in NSF's National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program with five new teams receiving $20M collective funding for quantum technology design.
• QuantinuumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026Partner company in NSF's quantum technology development initiatives through the National Quantum Virtual Laboratory.
• National Applied AI Consortium (NAAIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026NSF grant recipient expanding AI training programs from college faculty to high school teachers through curriculum and resource development.
• University of TulsaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree students received 2026 NSF Graduate Research Fellowships providing $37,000 annual stipend plus $16,000 tuition allowance for three years.
• Chicago Quantum ExchangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSF-backed regional strategy report for Midwest quantum workforce scaling, projecting up to 191,000 quantum jobs in Illinois-Wisconsin-Indiana region by 2035.
• DuolingominorOthersCompany example of NSF-funded research impact, with Duolingo having received early support through NSF programs.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Institutes of Health: The NIH is the largest federal funder of biomedical and health-related research, and NSF's closest peer as a U.S. federal grantmaking agency supporting research at universities. Both agencies fund extramural research through competitive, peer-reviewed grant programs with congressional appropriations, but NIH focuses on medical sciences while NSF covers all other scientific disciplines.
• Department of Energy Office of Science: The DOE Office of Science is the largest federal funder of physical sciences research and operates national laboratories, making it a direct peer to NSF. Both agencies fund basic research, operate major research infrastructure (e.g., accelerators, supercomputers), and support university-based research through competitive grants.
• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): DARPA is a federal agency that funds high-risk, high-reward research with a focus on national security applications, making it a direct peer to NSF. Both agencies use program managers to direct research portfolios and have produced transformative technologies (e.g., DARPA's internet precursors, NSF's contribution to modern computing).
• National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): NEH is the federal grantmaking agency dedicated to humanities research and education, making it a sister agency and direct peer to NSF. Both agencies use merit review to distribute congressional appropriations for research, with NSF covering science/engineering and NEH covering humanities.

Broad incumbents

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): NASA is a federal agency that funds and conducts space and aeronautics research, including extramural grants to universities. It overlaps with NSF's astronomy, space, and earth sciences portfolios and operates research infrastructure (observatories, ground stations) similar to NSF facilities.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: HHMI is one of the largest private funders of biomedical research, supporting ~300 investigators and investing in science education. While it is a private nonprofit rather than a federal agency, it operates similarly to NSF in funding investigator-driven basic research at universities and has analogous programs for early-career scientists.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): NIST is a federal agency that promotes U.S. innovation by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology. It overlaps with NSF in funding research at universities and operating research infrastructure (e.g., NIST Center for Neutron Research) and serves as a peer in the U.S. federal R&D ecosystem.

Regional players

• European Research Council (ERC): The ERC is the European Union's premier basic research funding agency, supporting investigator-driven frontier research across all fields. It is NSF's international counterpart, with a similar mandate to fund bottom-up, curiosity-driven research through competitive grants, but operates only within EU member states and associated countries.
• Wellcome Trust: Wellcome Trust is a large UK-based charitable foundation that funds biomedical and basic research globally, making it an international peer to NSF's research grantmaking function. It has a comparable scale and uses similar investigator-driven funding mechanisms, but is geographically focused outside the U.S.

Emerging players

• Simons Foundation: The Simons Foundation is a major private foundation that funds mathematics, physical sciences, and autism research, including through its Simons Observatory and Flatiron Institute. It complements NSF's basic research mission with substantial private capital, particularly in theoretical sciences and computational research.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NSF
• Facebookfacebook.com/US.NSF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-science-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments4686 records

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Frequently asked questions about National Science Foundation