NSF X-Labs Initiative
Note: The below summary of this funding opportunity has been assembled by RIO. Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity.
Program Summary
NSF X-Labs represent a bold, flexible, and outcomes-driven initiative designed to build and accelerate novel platform technologies capable of unlocking entirely new sectors, including new fields of scientific inquiry. The program will support full-time research and development (R&D) teams focused on use-inspired scientific breakthroughs and foundational platform technologies that traditional university and industry labs cannot easily address. NSF X-Labs teams will benefit from ambitious R&D goals, operational autonomy, milestone-based funding, and the ability to engage across academia, industry, national laboratories, and nonprofit sectors.
The NSF X-Labs initiative is designed to achieve the following strategic objectives for the benefit of the nation and national competitiveness.
- Build Sector-Defining Platforms—Develop novel platform technologies that can serve as the foundation for future innovations, novel engineering solutions, and/or scientific breakthroughs. These technologies should foster the transformation of scientific breakthroughs beyond traditional outputs like publications and datasets and accelerate innovations within relevant application domains.
- Develop New Organizational Research Structures—Foster organizations with the structure, resources, and flexibility necessary to tackle large-scale scientific advancements. These organizations should lead and leverage novel partnerships across industry, philanthropic, and academic sectors and tackle key research challenges that lack sufficient incentives within traditional academic and industry labs.
Topic Announcements
NSF will continue to release specific topic areas under the NSF X-Labs initiative via Topic Announcements. Topics will center on fields of research where breakthroughs could create or reshape entire scientific fields, and technology sectors where U.S. competitiveness is a priority.
From Sequence to Function
Please reference the full topic details via the official solicitation, including what is not considered in scope.
It is time for the next leap in the study of biology. By reliably linking protein sequence and structure to biological function, the United States can unlock a new era of biological engineering in which biological components are designed rather than discovered. Platform technologies that enable precise control over protein function will open the door to entirely new products and processes that use engineered biological components and outputs, such as enzymes. These capabilities will reshape the economics of biomanufacturing, chemical engineering, biosensing, and agriculture, among other sectors.
Although recent advances allow us to predict the static structure of proteins, we lack insight into their dynamic behavior. Even in minimal cells, the function of many genes and proteins remains unknown. NSF X-Labs in this space will close that gap by creating platform technologies that enable the intentional design of individual proteins or entire genomes whose function is predictable and/or controllable. Teams will pioneer and integrate advances in protein design/synthesis, genome assembly, synthetic cells, or experimental functional discovery and validation. Additionally, NSF X-Labs might use super intelligence (SI) to dramatically accelerate our ability to engineer the behavior of designed proteins or synthetic cells, including their metabolic requirements, stability, functional outputs, by-products, or system-level interactions.
Examples of relevant Missions include, but are not limited to: the creation of models that enable the prediction of protein–molecule interactions, including novel approaches to the collection or integration of SI training data; the design and application of nanoscale protein-based molecular motors; an enzyme function platform to discover and engineer enzyme pathways that have specific molecular behaviors; and a synthetic cell/genome platform to design and instantiate genomes with predictable and controllable biological function.
An NSF X-Labs Mission in this Topic must be transformative, accelerating breakthroughs in our understanding of the relationship between sequence and function, and catalyzing capabilities to engineer proteins or entire genomes with exceptional new capabilities. Successful teams will develop platform technologies, demonstrate measurable impact on the U.S. biotechnology landscape, and position their technologies for widespread use by overcoming technical barriers that limit implementation and investment. Although NSF X-Labs in this space will have widespread applicability, each team should identify 2-3 high-utility domains and should eventually establish projects in them. Teams proposing to this topic should identify how their approach to biosafety and biosecurity is tailored to their Mission and its pilot application domains including an assessment of dangerous gain-of-function and an accompanying plan to mitigate unintended consequences.
View Solicitation for Full Details
Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)
- Project Summary (2 pages maximum) including:
- Transformative Mission: How will your proposed Mission accelerate breakthroughs in understanding the relationship between sequence and function and create or reshape an entire field of scientific research or sector of technology?
- Platform Technology: How will your proposed Mission develop platform technologies for predictable or controllable protein or genome function, target 2–3 high-utility application domains, and address biosafety and biosecurity risks, including dangerous gain-of-function?
- Unmet Need: How will your proposed Mission develop a technology not presently supported by existing R&D investments by the U.S. public or private sector?
- Team & Organizational Structure: What is your anticipated team structure, and how will the proposed X-Lab address research challenges that traditional university and industry labs cannot easily address?
- List of team members and affiliations
- Internal Teaming Abstract (optional): Please provide a brief project abstract (3-4 sentences) for teaming purposes. By submitting this abstract, you give RIO permission to share your name and abstract with potential CU Boulder teams as part of the internal competition process, including if your proposal is not selected.
- Anticipated Development Needs (optional): Briefly identify any anticipated needs related to team development, expertise, partnerships, organizational capacity, or other resources that may be important to developing a competitive proposal.
Submit Internal Application by 11/9
Deadlines
- CU Internal Deadline: November 9, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. MT
- NSF Written Proposal Deadline: February 8, 2027 @ 3 p.m. MT
AI for Physical Systems
Please reference the full topic details via the official solicitation, including what is not considered in scope.
Decades of progress in AI algorithms, robotics, sensing, and embedded computing, combined with accelerating industry investment, have positioned the U.S. to redefine how intelligent systems interact with the physical world. While digital AI has advanced rapidly, the next frontier requires developing intelligent, adaptive, and scalable systems capable of perceiving, acting and learning directly within complex physical environments with adaptive human-robot interaction.
NSF X-Labs teams will target early-stage platform technologies that enable breakthroughs to accelerate entirely new forms of AI integration in physical systems including advanced sensors, robotics, embodied systems, human-robot interfaces, or cyber-physical systems. Examples of relevant Missions include, but are not limited to:
- Technologies to enable new forms of distributed learning and swarming
- Adaptive behavior in the absence of connectivity
- Novel algorithms for sensor integration into digital twin or cyber-physical simulations
- New capabilities in edge AI for physical systems
- New modalities for AI control of emerging robotics such as bio-inspired or bio-hybrid components
- Platforms to support the next generation of robotic manufacturing based on mass-customizability and intuitive learning
- Breakthroughs in the development of training data that, together with other advances, prepare physical AI systems for real-world variability including interactions with human counterparts
The resultant innovative platform technologies should benefit a broad range of application domains critical to U.S. competitiveness and security, which may include:
- Healthcare
- National defense
- Emergency response
- Advanced manufacturing
- Scientific discovery
View Solicitation for Full Details
Internal Application Requirements
- Project Summary (2 pages maximum) including:
- Transformative Mission: How will your proposed Mission create or reshape an entire field of scientific research or sector of technology?
- Platform Technology: How will your proposed Mission develop early-stage platform technologies that enable breakthroughs and accelerate entirely new forms of AI integration in physical systems including advanced sensors, robotics, embodied systems, human-robot interfaces or cyber-physical systems?
- Unmet Need: How will your proposed Mission develop a technology not presently supported by existing R&D investments by the U.S. public or private sector?
- Team & Organizational Structure: What is your anticipated team structure, and how will the proposed X-Lab address research challenges that traditional university and industry labs cannot easily address?
- List of team members and affiliations
- Internal Teaming Abstract (optional): Please provide a brief project abstract (3-4 sentences) for teaming purposes. By submitting this abstract, you give RIO permission to share your name and abstract with potential CU Boulder teams as part of the internal competition process, including if your proposal is not selected.
- Anticipated Development Needs (optional): Briefly identify any anticipated needs related to team development, expertise, partnerships, organizational capacity, or other resources that may be important to developing a competitive proposal.
Submit Internal Application by 10/19
Deadlines
- CU Internal Deadline: October 19, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. MT
- NSF Written Proposal Deadline: January 7, 2027 @ 3 p.m. MT
Request for Information (RFI): Identifying the Next Generation of NSF X-Labs Topics
On September 16, NSF issued an RFI titled Identifying the Next Generation of NSF X-Labs Topics to obtain public input on scientific and technological opportunities that could become future topics for the NSF X-Labs Initiative. NSF seeks information on high-impact platform technology opportunities, critical technical bottlenecks, enabling infrastructure, potential partnerships, and conditions under which dedicated X-Labs teams could accelerate scientific and technological breakthroughs. Responses are due by October 30, 2026.
Future NSF X-Labs Topics: Request for Expressions of Interest
NSF has provided an early preview of future topics anticipated in Fall 2026. Full Topic Announcements, including eligibility, scope, submission requirements, and deadlines, have not yet been released.
RIO is seeking brief expressions of interest from CU Boulder faculty and research teams to help identify emerging research strengths, potential teams, and partnership opportunities associated with these future NSF X-Labs topics. Early engagement will allow RIO to better understand campus interest and, where appropriate, help teams begin developing the interdisciplinary partnerships, capabilities, and strategy needed to pursue these opportunities.
- NSF X-Labs: Computation at the Limit of Physics—New technologies and paradigms are needed to pursue the computational efficiencies and capabilities required to drive U.S. innovation over the next half-century. NSF X-Labs in this topic will dramatically narrow the gap between the energy efficiency of conventional Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor-based computing and the inherent physical limits.
Expression of Interest Requirements (all in PDF format)
Faculty interested in pursuing either topic should submit an expression of interest including:
- NSF X-Labs topic of interest (Computation at the Limit of Physics)
- Brief description of the research concept (2–3 sentences)
- Potential team members and affiliations
- Potential external partners
- Anticipated team-development or partnership needs, if applicable
Submit Expression of Interest by 11/2
Deadlines
- CU Internal Deadline: November 2, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. MT
- NSF Deadline: TBD
Expressions of interest will help RIO identify potential research teams and areas of strength across campus and inform early engagement and team-development activities as additional information about these opportunities becomes available.
Topic Areas
Please reference the full topic details via the links below, including what is not considered in scope.
- Scientific Instrumentation for Sensing and Imaging
- Quantum Systems: Interconnects and Integrated Photonics
Required One-Page Concept Paper
For the Quantum Systems track, proposals must address technologies within the NSF X-Labs scope, including next-generation quantum interconnects, integrated quantum photonics, and/or enabling technologies. Projects should focus on systems that are not currently commercializable and require early-stage R&D investment. Please address the following in a one-page concept paper:
- High-Risk Novelty: How does your team’s technology expand the frontier of quantum systems beyond an incremental improvement of the state of the art?
- Ambition: How does your team’s technology accelerate breakthrough R&D and have the potential to create or reshape new lines of research and new sectors of the economy?
- Team Structure & Organizational Fit: What is your team’s anticipated structure and why is CU Boulder the appropriate organization to host your proposed X-Lab in Phase 0?
- List of Team Members and Affiliations: Include a list of key team members and their institutional affiliations.
Submit Internal Concept Paper by 7/13
Deadlines
- Internal Expression of Interest: Scientific Instrumentation, Sensing & Imaging: 5 p.m. MT July 6, 2026
- Internal Concept Paper: Quantum Systems—Interconnects and Integrated Photonics: 5 p.m. MT July 13, 2026
- NSF Written Proposal: Sensing and Imaging: July 13, 2026
- NSF Written Proposal: Quantum Systems Written Proposal Deadline: July 24, 2026
Limited Submission Guidelines
An eligible organization can submit a maximum of two Written Proposals per Topic Announcement for Phase 0 as a lead organization.
Eligibility
NSF will only sign an OT (Other Transaction) contract with one lead organization. That lead organization may be composed of multiple entities and team members and may enter into subcontract/subcontractor agreements with partnering organizations during the period of performance. NSF will have no contractual relationship with a lead organization’s subcontractors.
Award Information
NSF anticipates awarding teams selected for Phase 0 no more than $1,500,000, and teams selected for Phase 1 no more than $50,000,000 per year. Teams must consider their own operational needs and organizational readiness prior to requesting Phase 0 funding.
Timeline
NSF anticipates awarding selected teams a 9-month Phase 0 with a Go/No Go selection period beginning after 7 months. NSF anticipates awarding teams selected for Phase 1 an approximately 24 to 36 month period of performance with the intention of renewing high performing teams for Phase 2 following subsequent Go/No Go selections.
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