UCSD researcher working in a lab

Accelerating Innovations to Market for National Security

One Innovation, Many Missions.

Have a breakthrough with dual potential? Apply to AIM for National Security and accelerate your innovation toward impact, from healthcare to homeland defense. Your research could serve more than one mission. Let us help you launch it.

At the intersection of research, readiness, and real-world application, UC San Diego’s Accelerating Innovations to Market (AIM) for National Security is where mission-critical technologies find traction. This specialized track accelerates the transition of dual-use innovations from lab to launchpad, equipping entrepreneurs, researchers, and startup founders with the tools, mentorship, and networks needed to deploy solutions that matter.

What is Accelerating Innovation to Market?

AIM is UC San Diego’s commercialization accelerator for high-potential innovations. This initiative is designed to catalyze the translation of UC San Diego discoveries into commercial products and support the formation and growth of startups within our regional innovation ecosystem. We’re particularly excited to welcome projects focused on women’s health and therapeutics aligned with the Defense Health Agency, building on groundbreaking work led by the Human Milk Institute in partnership with industry collaborators, such as Novonesis.

We are also seeking applications from therapeutic programs that align with DARPA and the scientific focus areas of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute and the Sanford Advanced Therapy Center, including cell, gene, biomaterial, and/or other regenerative medicine therapies. These domains represent key strengths of our innovation community and offer significant potential for clinical translation and commercialization.

The National Security track of AIM is purpose-built to support dual-use technologies, those with both civilian and defense applications, and to guide research teams and startups in engaging effectively with the Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community (IC), and other federal partners.

Through funding, intensive workshops, expert coaching, and curated pitch opportunities, AIM helps founders validate use cases, sharpen acquisition strategies, and prepare for real-world deployment in defense, civilian, and national security environments.

What You’ll Gain

A validated dual-use business model
Customized defense market landscape
Strategic roadmap for government engagement
Actionable guidance on IP, compliance, and transition planning
Pathways to funding via SBIR/STTR, DoD labs, or tech accelerators
Entry into UC San Diego’s National Security Innovation Network

Ready to Apply? Application will be accepted through October 24, 2025.

APPLy Now

Who Should Apply?

Faculty and Researchers with innovations that align with U.S. national security priorities.
Founders or startups with dual-use technology seeking to enter defense markets.
Academic teams looking to understand DoD commercialization mechanisms.

AIM-NS invites proposals in the following key areas:

Resilient Infrastructure & Environmental Technologies
- Advanced Materials
- Microelectronics
- Renewable Energy Generation and Storage
- Smart Infrastructure: Energy, Transportation, and IoT
- Oceanographic Devices and Tools
- Seismographic and Geologic Tools
- Pandemic preparedness
Defense & Aerospace Systems
- Directed Energy (DE)
- Hypersonics
- Nuclear
- Space Technology
- Aerospace & Low Earth Orbit Applications
- Sustainment
Life Sciences & Human Performance
- Biotechnology (medical devices, diagnostics, microbiome interventions, & electroceuticals)
- Women’s Health (reproductive interventions, human milk sciences & therapeutics)
- Regenerative Medicine and Therapeutics
- Human-Machine Interfaces
- Novel Drugs or Therapeutics

Application Process

AIM is for teams seeking funding to de-risk their projects and advance a proof of concept meaningfully toward commercialization. The funds are awarded for use during the 2025 - 2026 Fiscal Year (FY26). Given the timeline for awards, spending may be allowed for the full 12 months from the award date.

Note: Please do not include proprietary or confidential information in your proposal as applications may be shared with funding and investment partners. For questions, contact smoise@ucsd.edu .

Key Dates & Format

Fiscal Year 2026 (Applications open Summer 2025)

Application Full Proposal Open: August 1, 2025
Application Full Proposal Closed: October 24, 2025
Internal Proposal Review: October 25th - 31, 2025
Plan to be available for Proposal Review Panels: November 5 and 6, 2025 (in-person at the Design and Innovation Building)
Funding Announcement: November 2025
End of Funding: November 2026

Criteria and Target Applicants

Qualified proposals will have or be classified as the following:

Early-stage proof-of-concept and feasibility projects
Prototype development leading to field testing
Requires UC San Diego Intellectual Property or Invention Disclosure
- A combination of UC San Diego and non-university IP is acceptable

Apply if you are or have any combination of the following:

Submission must have an identified primary investigator with IP disclosures to UC San Diego — this includes: Assistant Research Scientist, Assistant Research Professor, Associate Research Scientist, Associate Research Professor, Research Scientist, Research Professor, Clinical Instructor, Assistant Clinical Professor, Associate Clinical Professor, Clinical Professor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Adjunct Associate Professor, and Adjunct Professor.
- Teams with UC San Diego students or postdocs engaged in the project
- Teams with non-UC San Diego affiliates supporting the project

Preferences:

UC San Diego IP (new disclosures accepted)
Pre-company formation technologies
Interdisciplinary approaches
Contemplation of dual use or national security applications

Accelerating Innovation to Market is an equal opportunity grant that does not discriminate against awardees based on social identity group affiliation. All teams will be considered based on the clarity of their IP and the feasibility of reaching inflection points during the performance period.