Close to SBIR deal

Private companies with VC ownership of 50% or more finally may be able to access funds under the Small Business Innovation Research program. A compromise between House and Senate versions of an SBIR reauthorization bill could come this month.

Both versions contain provisions to include majority venture-owned companies in the SBIR program, although the precise percentages differ. In the House version, up to 45% of SBIR funds administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Secretary of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) could be allocated to majority venture-backed companies...