The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced on May 14 that it plans to invest up to $1.5 billion over the next decade in its existing NSF X-Labs initiative.
The program is designed to support independent, milestone-driven research partnerships aimed at achieving what the agency calls “generational breakthrough science” outside traditional academic and corporate institutions.
The funding plan announcement marks a major expansion of NSF X-Labs, an effort initially previewed in late 2025 under the working name Tech Labs.
The initiative was created to foster new models of scientific research that bring together interdisciplinary teams of researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs to solve specific scientific challenges.
NSF describes the X-Labs model as independent organizations that compete for milestone-based federal funding.
Rather than focusing primarily on academic outputs, such as journal articles and datasets, the teams are intended to advance promising concepts and prototypes into commercially viable technology platforms that can attract private investment.
The agency said the approach reflects the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of modern science and is intended to provide teams with the resources, financial runway, and autonomy needed to tackle problems that can be difficult to pursue in conventional university and industry laboratories.
“The NSF X-Labs initiative represents our ambitious commitment to meeting the needs of the scientific enterprise today and tomorrow,” said Brian Stone, who is performing the duties of the NSF director.
“With an initial investment of up to $1.5 billion in independent, milestone-driven research teams pursuing sector-defining platform capabilities, we’re creating the conditions for transformative breakthroughs and accelerating America’s leadership in the technologies that will define this century,” he said.
Michael Kratsios, who heads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), said the initiative is designed to expand opportunities for scientists by supporting “a new generation of independent research organizations.”
“By backing a new generation of independent research organizations, we are giving entrepreneurial teams of scientists and engineers the autonomy, resources and milestone-driven focus to tackle challenges that were difficult to pursue in conventional academic and industry labs, opening brand new lines of inquiry,” he said.
“This is how we build the scientific institutions of the 21st century and secure our technological leadership for decades to come,” the OSTP director said.
The first round of X-Labs funding is inviting proposals on two topics.
The first seeks teams to develop next-generation scientific instruments for sensing and imaging using technologies such as quantum sensing, AI-driven computational imaging, and new chemical modalities.
The second focuses on quantum systems, including interconnects and integrated photonics needed to transfer quantum information and connect diverse quantum technologies.
The agency plans to distribute the funding through an Other Transactions Agreement Solutions Offering – a flexible contracting mechanism that will allow NSF to issue multiple topic announcements in priority science and technology areas.
NSF said it expects to make large, multiyear awards to selected teams, with additional challenge topics to be announced in the coming weeks.
Organizations can apply for funding through an X-Labs portal, which the agency said is “coming soon.”
The X-Labs initiative was shaped in part by feedback received through a request for information issued by NSF’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships in December 2025. The directorate said it will continue to use community input to refine future funding opportunities.