The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced a $3.19 million funding allocation to eight small businesses through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II program. This investment targets the prototyping of innovative technologies in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, and quantum information science. The competitively selected projects, which follow successful Phase I feasibility studies, are scheduled for a 24-month research and development cycle aimed at transitioning laboratory breakthroughs into commercial-grade products.
Among the awardees, Icarus Quantum Inc. (Boulder, CO) received $400,000 to develop a turnkey photon source using semiconductor quantum dot technology. A spin-out from the NIST Quantum Nanophotonics Group, Icarus is focusing on “noise-free excitation” to isolate excitation beams from emitted photons, achieving over 99% single-photon purity and 93% indistinguishability. This deterministic light source is designed for high-efficiency quantum interconnects, potentially increasing the success rate of entangled photon generation from the current probabilistic standard of 1% to over 70%. Such benchmarks are critical for the deployment of scalable quantum networks and distributed quantum computing architectures that rely on low-latency photon exchange.
The funding also supports advancements in the broader critical technology ecosystem, including ObjectSecurity LLC’s AI-driven compliance tool for operational technology and AMAG Consulting’s improvements to scanning electron microscope (SEM) simulation. By integrating charging effects and magnetic interactions into semiconductor modeling, these projects aim to enhance the reliability of domestic chip manufacturing and cybersecurity. These Phase II awards serve as a strategic bridge to Phase III, where companies will seek private investment or non-SBIR federal funding to scale their technologies for global healthcare, defense, and infrastructure markets.
Read the full announcement from NIST here.
February 12, 2026
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