Stacy L ChinFounder, KeepYourEquity · I get the government to write you checks

Secure Non-Dilutive Funding: Your Startup's 2026 Edge

16 Jan 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, Stacy Chin explains how biotech startups like Moderna, Ginkgo Bioworks, and 23andMe launched through SBIR/STTR and defense‑backed R&D contracts, and emphasizes that these programs are not limited to large firms. She highlights that federal agencies—including NIH, ARPA‑H, BARDA, and the Department of Defense—are already shaping their 2026 funding priorities, focusing on pandemic preparation and biosecurity. Key investment areas include broad‑spectrum antivirals, pan‑virus vaccines, rapid diagnostics, on‑demand biologic manufacturing, field‑deployable testing, and AI‑driven pathogen surveillance. Chin advises early‑stage, scrappy innovators to anticipate upcoming solicitations, understand reviewer priorities, and strategically position their startups to secure non‑dilutive funding before competition intensifies.

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Actually, that's how companies today like Moderna, Ginkgo Bioworks, and 23andMe actually got their early starts. It's actually through the SBIR/STTR program and defense-backed R&D contracts. And if you think those programs are only for the big players, you're wrong. Because right now the government's looking hard for early-stage teams, the scrappy innovators that can solve big and real national-wide problems. But the question is, do you know where the funding's heading next? Because these federal agencies like NIH, ARPA-H, and DOD are already shaping the 2026 priorities. So you want to be the first in line when these solicitations drop. So in this video, I'm going to walk you through what that exactly means, in addition to what reviewers are prioritizing, and how you can best position your startup to win non-dilutive funding before everyone else catches up to it. Let's start with the first area, which is pandemic preparation and biosecurity. Yes, so the headlines have moved away from COVID-19, but funding agencies haven't. NIH, BARDA, and ARPA-H are pouring millions of dollars into broad-spectrum antivirals, pan-virus vaccines, and rapid diagnostics that can pivot fast in case an outbreak hits. And this is not just medicine, but also in the infrastructure. Think on-demand biologic manufacturing, field-deployable testing, and AI-driven pathogen surveillances.