Foldé Inc. Awarded Competitive Grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation
R&D funding accelerates the translation of results to impact
Pleasanton, CA, March 5, 2026 – Foldé Inc. has been awarded a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $303,242 to conduct research and development (R&D) work on reducing morbidity associated with urinary catheterization procedures.
30 million urinary catheter insertions take place annually in the US, and over half a million are either difficult (requiring more than one insertion attempt) or traumatic. Led by urologist Dr. Young Kang and engineer Dr. Sammy Datwani, Foldé has invented a novel, patented urinary catheter, designed to more flexibly navigate the unique urethral anatomy of any given patient.
Foldé aims to increase first-time blind insertion success rate and thereby decrease patient suffering. “NSF accelerates the translation of emerging technologies into transformative new products and services,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and
Partnerships. “We take great pride in funding deep-technology startups and small businesses that will shape science and engineering results into meaningful solutions for today and tomorrow.”
“We are grateful for NSF’s support as we embark on our mission to bring a modern and truly patient-centric urinary catheter to the market,” expressed Dr. Kang. “We firmly believe in the Foldé catheter’s potential to become standard of care on the front lines.”
All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program, also known as America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process. Once a small business is awarded a Phase I grant, it becomes eligible to apply for Phase II funding and additional supplements totaling up to $2 million. To get started, startups or entrepreneurs submit a written Project Pitch to see if their technology idea could be a good fit for the program. To learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, visit: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/
NSF has several programs that help accelerate the translation of research results to practice and provide pathways for researchers, startups and aspiring entrepreneurs to move their ideas from the laboratory to the market and society. To learn more about how NSF helps unlock future technologies for national and societal impact, visit: https://beta.nsf.gov/tip/latest.
About the U.S. National Science Foundations Small Business Programs: America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards more than $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $2 million to support research and development, helping de-risk technology for commercial success.
America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $9.5 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.