National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF), established in 1950 and located in Alexandria, Virginia, is an independent federal agency dedicated to advancing fundamental research and education across all scientific and engineering disciplines. With an annual budget of approximately $7.8 billion, the NSF operates America's Seed Fund, which allocates nearly $200 million each year to support startups and small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. This initiative provides non-dilutive funding of up to $1.5 million to assist in research and development efforts, thereby facilitating the transformation of scientific discoveries into commercially viable products and services. By helping to de-risk technology, the NSF plays a crucial role in fostering innovation and addressing societal challenges through scientific advancements.

James Donlon

Program Director

Sean L. Jones

Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Sethuraman Panchanathan

Director

Ben Schrag Ph.D

Program Director and Policy Liaison, SBIR / STTR

Past deals in Photo Software

ViQi

Grant in 2022
ViQi offers a software-as-a-service platform specializing in scientific image analysis, catering to various industries including life sciences, construction, and agriculture. Through a straightforward subscription model, users can tailor ViQi's services to their specific requirements for data storage and analysis. The platform facilitates custom image processing and informatics, providing tools for bio-image semantic queries and module development. Additionally, ViQi assists with intranet deployment and hosting of image collections, allowing clients to efficiently view, investigate, and share complex data and images. This comprehensive approach enables swift results and enhances the discovery process in diverse applications.

Ramona

Grant in 2021
Manufacturer of microscopy toolset intended to capture cellular-level detail over hundreds of square centimeters. The company's microscope uses custom-designed control electronics to deliver and process massive amounts of image data from a large array of micro-cameras, enabling companies to capture, analyze, and securely store tens of gigapixels of object-specific data with high throughput and improved analysis.

ViQi

Grant in 2020
ViQi offers a software-as-a-service platform specializing in scientific image analysis, catering to various industries including life sciences, construction, and agriculture. Through a straightforward subscription model, users can tailor ViQi's services to their specific requirements for data storage and analysis. The platform facilitates custom image processing and informatics, providing tools for bio-image semantic queries and module development. Additionally, ViQi assists with intranet deployment and hosting of image collections, allowing clients to efficiently view, investigate, and share complex data and images. This comprehensive approach enables swift results and enhances the discovery process in diverse applications.

Radiologics

Grant in 2020
Developer of clinical trial software designed to provide image data management for clinical trials. The company's platform provides file transfer and verification, integration with clinical data, automation of image processing routines and connectivity, helping health professionals with clinical research and diagnostics.

Mizar Imaging

Grant in 2020
Mizar Imaging is a light sheet illumination system that is modular and designed for high-resolution imaging. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

PhotoCide Protection

Grant in 2020
PhotoCide Protection develops self-disinfecting materials such fabrics, plastics, and coatings based on a disruptive technology that combines engineered cellulose (NFC) with photosensitizers (PS, compounds that react with room light and oxygen from the air) to emit an environmentally-friendly biocidal agent called ‘singlet’ oxygen that simultaneously destroys a wide range of harmful pathogens on surfaces.

EPIImaging

Grant in 2020
Operator of a 3D computer vision platform intended to specialize in building camera arrays to facilitate light field capture and analysis. The company's 3D vision system is based on seminal Epipolar-Plane image analysis that has become recognized as an important component of high-quality passive ranging and the acquisition and delivery of the light field, enabling consumers with image acquisition and detect the aperture problem to solve the correspondence problem between the different captured viewpoints.

PhotonLab

Grant in 2019
PhotonLab develops photosensor technology for light detection and radiation monitoring. The company was founded in 2015 by Daniel Ferenc and has its headquarters in Davis, California.

OpenSpace

Grant in 2018
OpenSpace offers photo documentation which is automatically pinned to plan location with AI. It specializes in computer vision and construction. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Saber Corporation

Grant in 2018
Saber Software Corporation develops and markets PC utility software products for local area networks.

OpenSpace

Seed Round in 2017
OpenSpace offers photo documentation which is automatically pinned to plan location with AI. It specializes in computer vision and construction. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

eBeam Film

Grant in 2017
eBeam Film develops and sells high-performance information and image processing systems. Image Graphics was the company's previous name. Image Graphics, Inc. was founded in 1974 on the premise that electron beam technology could be used to produce the ultra high speed, high-resolution graphics, text, and imagery that government and industry required.

OpenSpace

Grant in 2017
OpenSpace offers photo documentation which is automatically pinned to plan location with AI. It specializes in computer vision and construction. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

SciArt Software

Grant in 2017
SciArt Software, Inc. specializes in developing topology optimization software that enhances the design process for physical parts through generative design. Founded in 2018 and based in Madison, Wisconsin, the company offers a range of products including ParetoCreo, an add-in for design analysis; ParetoWin, a CAD-agnostic topology optimization tool; ParetoCloud, a cloud-based solution for finite element analysis and topology optimization; and ParetoWorks, a subscription service for design analysis. SciArt's technology allows users to optimize material distribution based on specific strength and functionality requirements, significantly reducing manufacturing costs while preserving structural integrity. The software delivers insights to engineers approximately 60 times faster than traditional solutions, effectively doubling the design cycle speed.

PhotonLab

Grant in 2017
PhotonLab develops photosensor technology for light detection and radiation monitoring. The company was founded in 2015 by Daniel Ferenc and has its headquarters in Davis, California.

PixelEXX Systems

Grant in 2017
PixelEXX Systems Inc. develops prototype imaging devices for diagnosing cancer. The products include nanoarrays that take images of molecular signals associated with cellular activity. PixelEXX Systems Inc. was founded in 2008 and is based in Saint Louis, Missouri.

EPIImaging

Grant in 2016
Operator of a 3D computer vision platform intended to specialize in building camera arrays to facilitate light field capture and analysis. The company's 3D vision system is based on seminal Epipolar-Plane image analysis that has become recognized as an important component of high-quality passive ranging and the acquisition and delivery of the light field, enabling consumers with image acquisition and detect the aperture problem to solve the correspondence problem between the different captured viewpoints.

Pointivo

Grant in 2016
Pointivo Inc. is a technology company based in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in spatial intelligence solutions that leverage computer vision and machine learning. Founded in June 2014, Pointivo's software allows users to capture dimensions and create three-dimensional models of structures using any type of camera, including mobile devices and drones. The platform processes video to reconstruct scenes, extracting lines, edges, and measurements with high accuracy. This capability helps clients simplify tasks that require precise measurements and detailed documentation of physical assets. By integrating advanced analytics, Pointivo empowers users to gain a deeper understanding of their environments, enhancing their ability to manage and analyze physical structures effectively.

Imagars

Grant in 2016
Imagaars offers software solutions for the automatic recognition of vector graphics in image sketches, automatic identification and visualization of CAD files, and automatic assessment of design activities. Imagaars is based in Portland, Oregon.

Tarsier Optics

Grant in 2016
Developer of quantum camera technology designed to provide noise-free high-resolution images. The company's technology offers lightweight lenses that are effective for military vehicles, aircraft, and drones and high-resolution images to create new strategic advantages for military lenses, enabling clients to provide high-resolution long-range images free of the distortion caused by heat haze turbulence.

Pointivo

Grant in 2015
Pointivo Inc. is a technology company based in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in spatial intelligence solutions that leverage computer vision and machine learning. Founded in June 2014, Pointivo's software allows users to capture dimensions and create three-dimensional models of structures using any type of camera, including mobile devices and drones. The platform processes video to reconstruct scenes, extracting lines, edges, and measurements with high accuracy. This capability helps clients simplify tasks that require precise measurements and detailed documentation of physical assets. By integrating advanced analytics, Pointivo empowers users to gain a deeper understanding of their environments, enhancing their ability to manage and analyze physical structures effectively.

PixelEXX Systems

Grant in 2014
PixelEXX Systems Inc. develops prototype imaging devices for diagnosing cancer. The products include nanoarrays that take images of molecular signals associated with cellular activity. PixelEXX Systems Inc. was founded in 2008 and is based in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Imagars

Grant in 2014
Imagaars offers software solutions for the automatic recognition of vector graphics in image sketches, automatic identification and visualization of CAD files, and automatic assessment of design activities. Imagaars is based in Portland, Oregon.
Scientific Imaging and Visualization develops image processing, computer vision, and visualization products and services. The company was founded in 2010 by Oskar Skrinjar and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mental Canvas

Grant in 2014
Mental Canvas is a software company that is developing a new class of graphical-media-design system that lies between today's 2D digital draw-and-paint systems and 3D computer-aided design systems, combining the ease and fluidity of sketching with expansive 3D capabilities. Using the Mental Canvas system, you can quickly draw out your ideas just as you imagined them in a new interactive and shareable media type. Similar to what the word processor has done for text or Photoshop has done for photography, Mental Canvas reimagines the sketch, imbuing it with new capabilities and bringing it fully into the digital age.

Phi Optics

Grant in 2014
Phi Optics Inc. develops optical imaging systems for life sciences, medical diagnostics, nanotechnology, and semiconductor testing applications. It offers Quantitative Phase Imaging, a label-free, non-contact, and non-invasive imaging method for measuring nanoscale structures and dynamics via interferometry. The company was founded in 2009 and is based in Champaign, Illinois.

Mental Canvas

Grant in 2013
Mental Canvas is a software company that is developing a new class of graphical-media-design system that lies between today's 2D digital draw-and-paint systems and 3D computer-aided design systems, combining the ease and fluidity of sketching with expansive 3D capabilities. Using the Mental Canvas system, you can quickly draw out your ideas just as you imagined them in a new interactive and shareable media type. Similar to what the word processor has done for text or Photoshop has done for photography, Mental Canvas reimagines the sketch, imbuing it with new capabilities and bringing it fully into the digital age.

TaggPic

Grant in 2012
TaggPic geo-recognition technology analyzes photos based solely on visual features to recognize landmarks in digital photos, and the precise locations where the photos were captured. The Problem: Hundreds of millions of digital photos from around the world are uploaded to the Web every day. This explosion of pixel data is creating the need for fast, hyper-accurate, and automatic tagging of massive collections of images. The Solution: TaggPic technology is based solely on visual features, and does not require any metadata, such as GPS tags, manual tagging, or other location sensors, although it is capable of working with inputs from all three. The underlying algorithms can determine the precise position of the camera viewpoint in a geo-referenced coordinate system, even if no prior data about the photo’s location is known. TaggPic transforms static 2D photos into auto-tagged, geo-positioned, and intelligently connected platforms. TaggPic’s crowd-fueled computer vision technology instantly recognizes landmarks, buildings, and other objects in images without the need for GPS data or manual tagging.

Phi Optics

Grant in 2012
Phi Optics Inc. develops optical imaging systems for life sciences, medical diagnostics, nanotechnology, and semiconductor testing applications. It offers Quantitative Phase Imaging, a label-free, non-contact, and non-invasive imaging method for measuring nanoscale structures and dynamics via interferometry. The company was founded in 2009 and is based in Champaign, Illinois.
Scientific Imaging and Visualization develops image processing, computer vision, and visualization products and services. The company was founded in 2010 by Oskar Skrinjar and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Anchovi Labs

Grant in 2012
Anchovi Labs is developing a new way to organize, browse and share your personal photos.

PixelEXX Systems

Grant in 2012
PixelEXX Systems Inc. develops prototype imaging devices for diagnosing cancer. The products include nanoarrays that take images of molecular signals associated with cellular activity. PixelEXX Systems Inc. was founded in 2008 and is based in Saint Louis, Missouri.

FiveFocal

Grant in 2012
FiveFocal was founded in 2009 with the goal of bringing system-level design to the next-generation of imagers. To achieve this goal, they assembled a team of experts in computational imaging, lens design, sensor modeling, image processing, optical engineering, and software development. In their first 5 years, they developed and used their own internal software to complete close to 100 engineering service projects spanning a large range of applications. From miniature computational imagers to space telescopes, they selected projects that would challenge their thinking and refine their tools.
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