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Recently funded science companies in Illinois

76 companies in Illinois closed federal SBIR/STTR awards in the last two years, newest first. The funding event is the signal — small companies grow right after the award lands.

MEMQ INC

CHICAGO, IL · 6 employees

Cryo-Compatible Electro-Optic Modulation Using Scalable Commercial TFLN Foundry Platform

Department of Defense · National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Phase Phase I

$303kacross 2 awardsfunded 2025-11-03Company site →

DIGITAL OPTICS TECHNOLOGIES INC

ROLLING MEADOWS, IL · 6 employees

Lithium Niobate In-Phase/Quadrature Modulator for High-Bandwidth Data Transmission at Cryogenic Temperatures

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$1.9Macross 3 awardsfunded 2025-11-03

EPIR, INC.

BOLINGBROOK, IL · 30 employees

FEM GeniusóAI-powered Intelligent Agent for Automated Finite-Element Modeling of Aerospace Structures

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$1.9Macross 3 awardsfunded 2025-10-30

HIDENN-AI, Inc.

Evanston, IL · 6 employees

AI-based software toolkit for finite element modeling of aerospace structures based on Convolutional Hierarchical Deep-l Learning Neural Net

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$1.3Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-10-30Company site →

Sunstream Scientific Incorporated

Chicago, IL · 1 employee

Servo Throttle Strategy for Solid Fuel Ramjet

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I

$240kawardedfunded 2025-10-21Company site →

RESDEF INC. (DBA Frontier Audio Labs)

CHICAGO, IL · 7 employees

Machine Learning and Array Beamforming Military Boom Microphone

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$1.5Macross 3 awardsfunded 2025-10-07Company site →

Integrated Dynamics, Inc.

CHICAGO, IL · 3 employees

SBIR Phase I: High-Temperature Fermentation for Volatile Organic Chemical Production

National Science Foundation · Phase Phase I

$245kawardedfunded 2025-10-01

N'WAII INC.

NAPERVILLE, IL · 1 employee

First in Class Mitochondrially targeted antioxidants with transcriptional modulator capabilities and their implication in the diseases of th

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$349kawardedfunded 2025-09-30

STARFIRE INDUSTRIES, LLC

CHAMPAIGN, IL · 44 employees

PVD manufacturing process for inner protective liners enabling advanced cladding compositions to reduce fuel-cladding chemical interactions,

Department of Energy · Phase Phase I

$400kacross 2 awardsfunded 2025-09-26Company site →

Neurolux, Inc.

NORTHFIELD, IL · 7 employees

Development and Validation of a Compliant Reversible Actuator and Detector Leveraging Electrophysiology for Organoids (Organoid-CRADLE)

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$1.0Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-09-24Company site →

QDIR, INC.

CHICAGO, IL · 3 employees

A Systematic Approach to High Operating Temperature (HOT) Colloidal Quantum Dot Infrared Photodetectors

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$2.1Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-09-24Company site →

ZINNIA TECHNOLOGIES INC.

WINNETKA, IL · 4 employees

Zinnia All Day: An application for mobile devices and connected TVs to assist care partners promote routine in activities of daily living in

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$500kawardedfunded 2025-09-20Company site →

O2M TECHNOLOGIES LLC

CHICAGO, IL · 9 employees

Advanced Imaging Methods in Pulse EPR

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$1.2Mawardedfunded 2025-09-19Company site →

ZECOAT CORPORATION

GRANITE CITY, IL · 9 employees

Micrometeorite Shield with Tailorable, High-Performance, Thermal/Optical Properties for Spacecraft Telescope Baffle

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Phase Phase I

$150kawardedfunded 2025-09-18Company site →

HINETICS LLC

CHAMPAIGN, IL · 20 employees

Health monitoring and pre-flight diagnostics for robust electrical machines

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Phase Phase I

$150kawardedfunded 2025-09-17Company site →

Third Coast Dynamics, Inc.

EVANSTON, IL · 1 employee

Anatomic Imaging Derived 4D Hemodynamics using Deep Learning

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$813kawardedfunded 2025-09-16

HOMECARE HUB US INC

WILLOW SPRINGS, IL · 12 employees

Scaling a network of small community-based care homes as a high-value alternative to institutional care

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$1.1Mawardedfunded 2025-09-16Company site →

MICROLINK DEVICES INC

NILES, IL · 60 employees

Radiation Resistant Solar and Laser Power Converter for Lunar Applications

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Phase Phase I

$300kacross 2 awardsfunded 2025-09-16Company site →

BRIGHTOUTCOME INC

BUFFALO GROVE, IL · 7 employees

WHIM (Women's Health in Menopause): Promoting healthy aging in menopausal women

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$400kawardedfunded 2025-09-15Company site →

ANGIOTENSIN THERAPEUTICS, INC.

Evanston, IL · 3 employees

AGT001 for Delayed Graft Function in Kidney Transplantation

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$610kacross 2 awardsfunded 2025-09-15

Laborecom Therapeutics Inc

Chicago, IL · 3 employees

A cell-permeable peptide therapeutic to reduce myocardial reperfusion injury

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$388kawardedfunded 2025-09-15

COMMON GROUND PUBLISHING, LLC

CHAMPAIGN, IL · 17 employees

CGScholar AI Helper: A Generative AI Writing and Learning Assistant

Department of Education · Phase Phase II

$1.0Mawardedfunded 2025-09-12Company site →

VORTEX THERAPEUTICS INC

LOMBARD, IL · 2 employees

Development of a novel MYC inhibitor for cancer therapy

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$1.1Mawardedfunded 2025-09-12

QuesTek Innovations LLC

Evanston, IL · 42 employees

Multi-scale location-specific fatigue life prediction for additive propulsion components

Department of Defense · National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Phase Phase I

$693kacross 4 awardsfunded 2025-09-11Company site →

Regenerative Medical Solutions Inc

Park Ridge, IL · 7 employees

Development of a safer stem cell-based diabetes therapy via suicide gene-mediated ablation of proliferative cells

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$915kawardedfunded 2025-09-10Company site →

INFLUIT ENERGY LLC

CHICAGO, IL · 30 employees

American-Made High-Energy Density Flow Battery with Neutral pH Electrolytes for Tactical and Strategic Energy Resilience

Department of Defense · Phase Phase II

$1.2Mawardedfunded 2025-09-10Company site →

MAIA Biotechnology, Inc.

Chicago, IL · 12 employees

Novel Telomere-Targeting Therapy for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$770kawardedfunded 2025-09-09

EVOQUANT LLC

Chicago, IL · 1 employee

Leveraging Large Scale Bioinformatics and AI for Natural Product Drug Discovery and Target Selection

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$307kawardedfunded 2025-09-05

APPLIED MATERIAL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING, INC

STREAMWOOD, IL · 7 employees

Innovative Advances in Coatings for Extreme Environmental Thermal Radiators and Complex Surfaces

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Phase Phase I

$150kawardedfunded 2025-09-02

PeptiForge, Inc

Chicago, IL · 3 employees

A platform for the rapid development of protein binders

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$307kawardedfunded 2025-09-01Company site →

DOCBOTIC INC

NAPERVILLE, IL · 5 employees · woman-owned

Betterbot: Promoting Accessible and Inclusive Mental Health Support for Individuals with Brain Injury

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$500kawardedfunded 2025-09-01Company site →

UPTAKE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Chicago, IL · 21 employees

Next Generation Condition-Based Maintenance Plus for USAF

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$1.3Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-08-28Company site →

VILLA-TECH, INC.

NAPERVILLE, IL · 14 employees

"Revolutionizing Infrastructure/security and compliance for the warfighter using AI/NLP"

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I

$149kawardedfunded 2025-08-28Company site →

FALEX CORPORATION

SUGAR GROVE, IL · 36 employees

Next-Gen Fuel Testing: Automating Breakpoint Detection with an Upgraded Thermal Oxidation Stability Test Equipment

Department of Defense · Phase Phase II

$1.2Mawardedfunded 2025-08-26Company site →

LIFEBOAT LLC

CHAMPAIGN, IL · 9 employees

NetCDF4 / HDF5 Format Extension Pack (NFEP): Transparently Adding More Formats to NetCDF4 and HDF5

Department of Energy · National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$1.5Macross 3 awardsfunded 2025-08-26Company site →

IRIS LIGHT TECHNOLOGIES INC

CHICAGO, IL · 4 employees

Low SWAP frequency combs for RF photonic chips and portable atomic clocks enabled by black phosphorus actives

Department of Defense · Department of Energy · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$2.1Macross 3 awardsfunded 2025-08-25Company site →

IMPOSSIBLE OBJECTS, INC.

NORTHBROOK, IL · 24 employees

High-Volume Low-Cost Long-range Fixed Wing UAS with near-conflict Distributed Manufacturability

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$1.5Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-08-22Company site →

RATIONAL CYPHY INC

CHAMPAIGN, IL · 3 employees

SkyAID: A Safe Autonomy Infrastructure for Disaster Response

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Phase Phase II

$850kawardedfunded 2025-08-08

SIVANANTHAN LABORATORIES, INC.

BOLINGBROOK, IL · 30 employees

Metasurface-coupled HgCdTe alloys for nonreciprocal optical limiting

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$2.0Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-08-07

Midgard AI, INC.

Chicago, IL · 3 employees

Highly Photorealistic Programmable 3D Worlds

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Phase Phase II

$848kawardedfunded 2025-08-06Company site →

DUPAGE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY, INC.

Willowbrook, IL · 2 employees

A new drug to treat transplant-associated renal ischemia-reperfusion injury

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$307kawardedfunded 2025-08-01

BRITESEED, LLC

CHICAGO, IL · 7 employees

Development of a Multispectral Kerrison Rongeur for Dura and Nerve Root Detection

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$1.0Mawardedfunded 2025-08-01Company site →

SNC THERAPEUTICS, INC.

EVANSTON, IL · 2 employees

Tolerogenic Nanotherapy to Delay Type I Diabetes

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$350kawardedfunded 2025-07-25

FLUID REALITY INCORPORATED

CHICAGO, IL · 2 employees

SBIR Phase I: Compact Haptic Actuators Using Electroosmotic Pumps

National Science Foundation · Phase Phase I

$305kawardedfunded 2025-07-15

AI TECH HOLDINGS INC

Chicago, IL · 9 employees

Integration of Physiological Alerting and Location Monitoring from WearTAK-Mil into Special Tactics Radio Data Transport Layers

Department of Defense · Phase Phase II

$2.5Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-07-09Company site →

Mantis Tech, LLC

Oswego, IL · 100 employees

Marksmanship Analysis and Training Information System (MANTIS)

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I

$139kawardedfunded 2025-07-07Company site →

CREATIVE THERMAL SOLUTIONS, INC.

URBANA, IL · 26 employees

Development of a Shipboard Modular Refrigeration System Using Carbon Dioxide as the Refrigerant

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$1.1Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-07-07Company site →

Tango Biosciences Inc.

Chicago, IL · 3 employees

The Avidimer Platform - a molecular toolbox to accelerate proximity research and drug discovery

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$314kawardedfunded 2025-07-01

EARNEST AGRICULTURE, INC.

RANTOUL, IL · 2 employees

STTR Phase I: Development of Seed Applied Bacterial Consortium for Soybean to Increase Yield, Nitrogen Fixation, Disease Resistance, and Aft

National Science Foundation · Phase Phase I

$275kawardedfunded 2025-07-01Company site →

NUTS TECHNOLOGIES INC

GLENCOE, IL · 4 employees

TALON2D: Tactical Autonomous Layer for Optimized Networking with Distributed and Decentralized Key Management

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I

$140kawardedfunded 2025-06-30Company site →

INGENIUM TECHNOLOGIES CORP

ROCKFORD, IL · 36 employees

Advanced Ceramic Electrochemical Cell for Oxygen Production

Department of Defense · Phase Phase II

$1.4Mawardedfunded 2025-06-25Company site →

ENDUVO INC

PEORIA, IL · 19 employees

Enduvo TACFI - RAISE: Rapid AI-Immersive Scalable Education

Department of Defense · Phase Phase II

$3.2Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-06-11Company site →

NUAGO THERAPEUTICS INC

CHICAGO, IL · 1 employee

Development of a DISE-inducing, short RNA therapeutic to treat ovarian cancer

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$400kawardedfunded 2025-06-09Company site →

OPERA BIOSCIENCE, INC.

EVANSTON, IL · 3 employees · woman-owned

SBIR Phase II: A Gram-Negative Bacterial Secretion Platform for Cost-Effective, High-Purity Recombinant Protein Production

National Science Foundation · Phase Phase II

$1.2Mawardedfunded 2025-06-05

Inertial Technologies Inc.

Chicago, IL · 1 employee

STTR Phase I: Supersonic Inertial Separation for Carbon Capture Technologies

National Science Foundation · Phase Phase I

$305kawardedfunded 2025-06-01Company site →

A Cubed Design LLC

Aurora, IL · 3 employees

SBIR Phase I: Novel Mechanism for Refreshable Braille Device with Embedded Curriculum

National Science Foundation · Phase Phase I

$305kawardedfunded 2025-05-22

CELADYNE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

WILLOWBROOK, IL · 12 employees

SPECTRE - Silent Propulsion, Extended Range, Covert Transport and Resupply Engine

Department of Defense · Phase Phase II

$1.8Mawardedfunded 2025-05-21Company site →

SYNAPTICURE INC

KENILWORTH, IL · 1 employee

3D in vitro model of genetic and sporadic FTD: accelerating novel therapeutic development

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$1.3Mawardedfunded 2025-05-09

AMERICAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES CO

GLENVIEW, IL · 19 employees · woman-owned

New and Improved Domestic Carbon Monofluoride for D-size lithium-primary battery cells.

Department of Defense · Phase Phase II

$2.0Mawardedfunded 2025-05-06Company site →

Kompass Diagnostics Inc

Chicago, IL · 2 employees

SBIR Phase I: Portable Blood Diagnostic Technology Enabling Care Delivery Beyond Hospital Walls

National Science Foundation · Phase Phase I

$305kawardedfunded 2025-04-29

HAAS, INC

CHICAGO, IL · 48 employees

Child Safety Using Optical and V2X Digital Alerting Technology to Bring School Buses and Students on the Vehicle Grid for Collision Preventi

Department of Transportation · Phase Phase II

$748kawardedfunded 2025-04-22Company site →

Covira Surgical

North Chicago, IL · 3 employees

A novel, non-antibiotic, microbiome-directed agent to prevent post-surgical infection

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$1.0Mawardedfunded 2025-04-17Company site →

SENSEWHY, INC.

CHICAGO, IL · 4 employees

ASHES: Assessing Smoking BeHavior with ThErmal Sensing to Prevent Relapse

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$400kawardedfunded 2025-04-15Company site →

SCIAKY INC

CHICAGO, IL · 54 employees

Real-Time Adaptive Control for Conduction Mode EB Welding of Niobium Cavities

Department of Energy · Phase Phase II

$724kawardedfunded 2025-04-14Company site →

CAPORUS TECHNOLOGIES INC

ORLAND PARK, IL · 6 employees

Engineered Substrates for Radiation-Hard Sensors in High Energy Physics

Department of Energy · Phase Phase II

$1.1Mawardedfunded 2025-04-14Company site →

TERA-PRINT LLC

SKOKIE, IL · 7 employees

Towards Rapid and Accessible DNA Synthesis for Synthetic Biology via Beam Pen Lithography

Department of Energy · Phase Phase II

$1.1Mawardedfunded 2025-04-14Company site →

RHAEOS, INC

EVANSTON, IL · 5 employees

Lowering Economic, Infrastructure, & Physical Barriers with Noninvasive, Wireless Telemedicine Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow Sensing for Pediatri

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I/Phase II

$1.3Macross 2 awardsfunded 2025-04-12Company site →

BIOMESENSE INC

CHICAGO, IL · 7 employees

Development of a Novel Biosensor to Accelerate Investigations of the Gut Microbiome

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$1.1Mawardedfunded 2025-03-01

EDEN PARK ILLUMINATION, INC.

CHAMPAIGN, IL · 25 employees

Development of a Portable Microplasma Far-UVC Source for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections

Department of Energy · Phase Phase I

$206kawardedfunded 2025-02-18Company site →

ARTICULATE LABS, INC

Chicago, IL · 3 employees

Accelerated Physical Rehabilitation & Improved Military Readiness Through Movement-Synchronous Electrical Muscle Stimulation

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I

$109kawardedfunded 2025-01-14Company site →

Kaney Aerospace, Inc.

Rockford, IL · 150 employees

Final Development & Qualification of NSN 5996-01-419-3249 Aircraft Synchronous Amplifier

Department of Defense · Phase Phase II

$925kawardedfunded 2025-01-13Company site →

BELAY DIAGNOSTICS, LLC

CHICAGO, IL · 2 employees

Multi-omic CSF Assay for the Diagnosis of Brain Cancers

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase II

$844kawardedfunded 2025-01-01Company site →

NOVAA LTD

CHICAGO, IL · 4 employees

Pressure-Tolerant Electronically Steered Antenna for Satellite Communications on Unmanned Undersea Vehicles

Department of Defense · Phase Phase II

$645kawardedfunded 2024-12-18Company site →

AZUL 3D INC

SKOKIE, IL · 20 employees

Protective Eyewear with Vision Correction Using Continuous 3D Printing

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I

$204kawardedfunded 2024-11-27Company site →

HY-TEK MANUFACTURING CO., INC.

SUGAR GROVE, IL · 38 employees · woman-owned

Steel Laminated Armor Plate (SLAP)

Department of Defense · Phase Phase I

$249kawardedfunded 2024-11-13Company site →

EPICWIDE, LLC

Chicago, IL · 1 employee

Home-Use Synergy-Alleviating System.

Department of Health and Human Services · Phase Phase I

$93kawarded

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