Ask HN: US government funds a lot of tech research, why don't startups use it?
Some people know about SBIRs (small business innovative research grants), through which federal government gives away more than $1B of R&D funding to small businesses. There are many more opportunities open for small businesses. For example, AirForce recently opened a $100M solicitation looking for machine learning technologies.
I know government grant process can be very cumbersome but so is trying to raise VC money (especially outside of SV). And government money is non-dilutive.
I am noticing more startups (e.g. Palantir, Anduril) starting off of government opportunities, but they seem very rare.
Why isn't gov funding a more common way of starting a startup? Is it mostly because people don't know about these and/or don't know how to navigate the process?
I know government grant process can be very cumbersome but so is trying to raise VC money (especially outside of SV). And government money is non-dilutive.
I am noticing more startups (e.g. Palantir, Anduril) starting off of government opportunities, but they seem very rare.
Why isn't gov funding a more common way of starting a startup? Is it mostly because people don't know about these and/or don't know how to navigate the process?