Non-dilutive funding

Government money for robotics.

SBIR/STTR and other government solicitations relevant to humanoids, exoskeletons and the component stack — what's open, who runs it, what it pays, and who's eligible.

Open now (2)

OpenSBIRSBIR Topic ID 12766 (sbir.gov)

DoD SBIR — Safe Falling and Failing For Humanoid Robots

Topic seeking fall-detection/fall-mitigation and safe-failure control policies for humanoid robots (research direction paralleled by recent academic work like "SafeFall" and "Unified Humanoid Fall-Safety Policy," both 2025 arXiv papers). Full topic text was not accessible via public fetch at compile time.

Agency: Dept. of Defense (SBIR/STTR program)
Funding: Not disclosed
Key dates: Not confirmed — verify directly on sbir.gov/topics/12766
Eligibility: Standard SBIR eligibility (for-profit, U.S.-owned & controlled small business)

Only the topic title and ID were confirmed via search; the sbir.gov page itself returned an error on fetch — pull the live topic text and deadline directly from sbir.gov or the DoD SBIR/STTR portal before acting.

Source: sbir.gov/topics/12766

OpenDirect RFQ (FAR Part 12, simplified acquisition, firm-fixed-price)1333ND26QNB730241

NIST — Procurement of a Humanoid Robot

One (1) humanoid robot for NIST's Engineering Laboratory (Gaithersburg, MD), for the Measurement Science for Robotics and Autonomous Systems program. Minimum specs: ≥1.5m tall, 2 arms/2 legs/torso/head, ≥5 DOF/leg, ≥6 DOF/arm, walks ≥0.33 m/s, carries ≥5kg at 0.5m reach, ≥1hr battery, open API for joint control / motion planning / sensor feedback. No prototypes, used, or refurbished equipment accepted.

Agency: Dept. of Commerce / National Institute of Standards and Technology
Funding: Not disclosed (2 CLINs: robot hardware + software/API, quoted by offeror)
Key dates: Offers due Aug 24, 2026, 12:00 PM ET
Eligibility: Active SAM.gov registration required at time of quote and through final payment; unrestricted, full & open competition

Award decided on Technical Capability (weighted above Price) then Price reasonableness; delivery required within 6 months of order; questions were due Aug 14, 2026.

Source: sam.gov (Notice ID 1333ND26QNB730241)

Closed — useful for pattern-matching what agencies fund (3)

ClosedSBIR, Direct-to-Phase IIDAF26BZ03-DV020

Air Force SBIR — Humanoid Robot Fleet Management for Aircraft Maintenance & Sustainment

Fleet management system to coordinate multiple humanoid + industrial robots for Air Force depot aircraft maintenance and sustainment tasks (inspection, repair, material handling) beyond simple material handling. ITAR/EAR-restricted — foreign national participation must be disclosed and may be restricted.

Agency: Dept. of the Air Force (AFWERX SBIR/STTR)
Funding: Est. $2,000,000
Key dates: Deadline was Jul 22, 2026
Eligibility: For-profit, U.S.-owned & controlled, ≤500 employees (incl. affiliates)

Direct-to-Phase II means offerors must demonstrate a working prototype at proposal time, not just a concept. Phase II target is TRL 7–8. Phase III envisions dual-use commercial transition.

Source: bwcoconsulting.com (SBIR consultant summary); original topic via DoD SBIR/STTR portal

ClosedDirect RFQ (simplified acquisition)6-B201-Q-00090-00

DOE Argonne National Laboratory — Procurement of a Humanoid Robot

One humanoid mobile robotic platform for AI research & real-world application at Argonne. Spec highlights: human-like torso, dual 7-DOF bio-inspired arms (≥3kg payload/arm), omnidirectional mobile base with LiDAR navigation, VR teleoperation, ROS2 + NVIDIA Isaac Sim compatible, open-source/customizable hardware. Non-Chinese origin required per DOE policy.

Agency: Dept. of Energy (Argonne National Laboratory)
Funding: Not disclosed
Key dates: Deadline was Dec 17, 2025, 12:00 PM CDT
Eligibility: Standard DOE vendor requirements (ANL-70 RFQ form, ANL-70B reps & certs)

Direct analog to the NIST humanoid RFQ — another federal lab buying an open, ROS2-compatible humanoid off the shelf. Contact: Luke Oprondek, loprondek@anl.gov.

Source: sam.gov / console.sweetspotgov.com (Notice 6-B201-Q-00090-00)

ClosedPrize competition (10 U.S.C. §4025), with potential follow-on contracts under multiple OTA/SBIR authoritiesxTechHumanoid

U.S. Army xTechHumanoid Competition

Militarized humanoid capabilities for Soldier force augmentation across two topics: (1) Baseline Humanoid System (security, gap crossing, obstacle clearing, CBRNE recon, firefighting, sustainment, forward recon) and (2) Advanced Humanoid Subsystems (sensors, embedded UAS/UGS control, autonomy AI, power, counter-detection). Up to 10 Phase-1 finalists received $25K each; up to 5 Phase-2 winners split $75K (baseline) / $30K (advanced) prizes.

Agency: Army xTech Program (ASA(ALT)) with the Joint Humanoid Community of Collaboration
Funding: Up to $490,000 in cash prizes + up to $1,250,000 in potential follow-on contracts/agreements
Key dates: Phase 1 (concept white papers): Aug 6 – Oct 1, 2025 (closed). Phase 2 (finals / live experimentation): Aug 1 – Sep 30, 2026. Winners announced Oct 31, 2026.
Eligibility: Domestic & foreign nonprofit/for-profit orgs; must hold a CAGE (US) or NCAGE (international) code; not a federal/foreign-government entity; not FCOC-controlled or FCOC-funded

Authorized under 10 U.S.C. §4025 (prize competitions); follow-on awards can use OTA (§4021), prototype authority (§4022/§4114), procurement for experimental purposes (§4023), or SBIR/STTR (15 U.S.C. §638).

Source: xtech.army.mil/competition/xtechhumanoid