New Bill Offers Small Businesses $100K Vouchers for University R&D Services

The Small Business Innovation Voucher Act of 2025 is setting up a new program designed to hook up small businesses with serious research muscle. Think of it as a matchmaking service, funded by the government, that pairs your local innovator with the high-tech labs at universities or major nonprofit research centers. The goal is simple: get small companies access to R&D expertise and infrastructure they normally couldn’t afford.

The $50,000 Coupon for Innovation

This bill creates the Innovation Voucher Grant Program, administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The program is essentially a two-step process. First, the SBA hands out $50 million annually (from 2025 through 2029) to states based on their share of the national small business population. Second, the states then use this money to issue vouchers directly to small businesses.

What does this mean for a small business owner? If you run a small manufacturing shop trying to develop a new composite material, you could get a voucher worth up to $50,000 to buy services—like specialized testing or expert consultation—from a university lab. The catch is that a single business can’t receive more than $100,000 in total vouchers from the program.

The State Match and the Joint Application

There are a couple of key details that will affect how this rolls out. For the states to get their piece of the federal funding, they have to put some skin in the game: each state must provide matching funds equal to at least 25 percent of the federal grant. This means state economic development budgets will be footing a quarter of the bill, which could be a sticking point for some state legislatures.

For the small business, getting the funding isn't as simple as filling out a form. To get a grant (which can range from $15,000 to $75,000), the small business must submit a joint application with the specific university or research lab they plan to hire. This joint application process ensures the project is feasible and that the research institution is on board from day one (SEC. 3). The government will also be looking closely at whether the project could have been done without the grant, suggesting they want to fund truly needy, innovative projects—a subjective call the SBA Administrator will have to make.

Who Pays What: The Cost-Sharing Breakdown

If your project is approved, the grant money doesn't cover 100% of the cost. The federal share is capped depending on the project size. For smaller projects (under $50,000), the grant can cover up to 75 percent of the cost. For larger projects (those $50,000 or more), the grant covers only up to 50 percent of the cost (SEC. 3). This cost-sharing structure is designed to make sure the small business is invested in the project’s success, but it also means the business needs to have the cash on hand to cover the remaining costs.

Ultimately, this bill is a serious attempt to bridge the gap between academic research and Main Street innovation. It creates a dedicated funding stream to help small businesses develop new products, potentially boosting competition and job creation. However, the requirement for states to come up with a 25% match and the administrative complexity of the joint application process means it will take some time—and state budget wrangling—before those $50,000 vouchers start showing up in small business inboxes.