What is X-Labs?
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP), established the X-Labs Other Transaction Agreement Solutions Offering (OTASO) to support mission-driven research organizations capable of pursuing ambitious scientific and technological breakthroughs. Unlike traditional grants or contracts, the NSF X-Labs initiative is designed to support independent, full-time interdisciplinary teams focused on developing foundational platform technologies that could unlock entirely new scientific fields, industries, and innovation ecosystems.
Through this initiative, NSF is soliciting proposals from domestic organizations capable of building agile, autonomous research teams that can operate outside traditional academic and industry structures. The agency intends to make one or more Other Transaction (OT) awards to organizations that demonstrate the technical vision, leadership, and organizational flexibility necessary to tackle large-scale scientific and technological challenges.
How X-Labs Works
NSF X-Labs is designed to support the development of novel platform technologies that have the potential to create or reshape entire sectors of technology and scientific inquiry. Rather than funding incremental advancements, NSF is specifically seeking bold, high-impact efforts capable of overcoming major technical bottlenecks and enabling transformative downstream innovation.
A defining feature of the initiative is its emphasis on creating new organizational models for research and development. NSF expects X-Labs teams to operate with significant autonomy over research direction, staffing, partnerships, funding allocation, and intellectual property management. Teams must demonstrate the ability to make decisions quickly and adapt to changing technical opportunities without reliance on traditional institutional approval processes.
NSF will issue specific Topic Announcements under the X-Labs framework. Proposing teams must align their mission with an active topic area and articulate how their proposed platform technology can drive breakthrough outcomes that are not currently achievable through existing funding mechanisms or organizational structures.
Examples of outcomes NSF hopes to enable include:
- Foundational platform technologies that drive significant future innovation
- Solutions to major technological bottlenecks that limit scientific advancement
- Early-stage prototypes and capabilities that are not yet supported by industry investment
- New organizational approaches that accelerate use-inspired research and technology development
NSF specifically notes that proposals focused primarily on incremental improvements, testbeds, data centers, or technologies already receiving substantial venture capital or industry support are unlikely to align with program objectives.
Current Topic Announcements
The first announced topic areas include:
Topic Area 1: Quantum Systems – Interconnects and Integrated Photonics
This topic focuses on foundational technologies needed to advance scalable quantum systems. NSF is seeking organizations capable of developing breakthrough approaches in quantum interconnects and integrated quantum photonics to address key barriers to future quantum networking, communication, and computing capabilities.
Topic Area 2: Scientific Instrumentation for Sensing and Imaging
This topic centers on next-generation sensing and imaging technologies that could enable new scientific discoveries and research capabilities. NSF is interested in platform technologies that advance scientific instrumentation and overcome current limitations in how researchers observe, measure, and understand complex physical and biological systems.
Read our full overview of the Scientific Instrumentation for Sensing and Imaging Topic Announcement.
Program Structure and Funding
NSF intends to support selected teams through a phased development model. Initial Phase 0 awards are expected to provide up to $1.5 million over 9-12 months to help teams refine their mission, governance structure, and milestone plans. Successful teams may advance to Phase 1, where NSF anticipates providing up to $50 million annually to support full-scale execution of their proposed mission. High-performing teams may be considered for additional follow-on support in later phases.
Additional Information
The NSF X-Labs initiative represents a new approach to federal R&D funding by supporting independent, mission-driven organizations focused on transformative platform technologies. Organizations interested in pursuing future X-Lab opportunities should begin considering how they would structure autonomous research teams, establish governance models, and develop ambitious technology missions aligned with future NSF priorities.
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