LYT Awarded Additional Supplemental Support from the National Science Foundation
Santa Clara, Calif., August 25, 2021 – SinWaves, Inc., doing business as LYT, has been awarded additional supplemental support under a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase IIB grant for $500,000 to advance innovations in traffic signal operations.
LYT’s industry-leading Emergency Vehicle Preemption and Transit Signal Priority solutions have already gained fast adoption and intense interest among major U.S. municipal agencies. The additional NSF funding grant will allow LYT to further refine innovations that allow LYT’s solutions to operate across neighboring jurisdictions, improve transit signal priority at complex intersections, and optimize signal timing based on demand.
One pilot project utilizing LYT’s next-generation technology has already positively impacted one economically disadvantaged community in San Jose, Calif. After implementing LYT’s transit signal priority solution (LYT.transit) in an East San Jose neighborhood, LYT was able to reduce rider travel times by 20% and emissions by 14%. Grant support from the National Science Foundation’s SBIR program will allow LYT to continue this and other innovative, groundbreaking work in communities across the nation.
“The National Science Foundation supports small businesses with the most innovative, cutting-edge ideas that have the potential to become great commercial successes and make huge societal impacts,” said Barry Johnson, Director of Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. “We hope that this seed funding will spark solutions to some of the most important challenges of our time across all areas of science and technology.”
“With transit and emergency services budgets stretched thin because of the pandemic, our municipalities and transit agencies must do more with less. This includes keeping their aging vehicles on the road for longer, carrying more passengers, and responding to higher scheduling demands,” said Timothy Menard, CEO and founder of LYT. “With additional support from the NSF SBIR program, we’re meeting that need by extending to our traffic agency partners LYT’s next-generation technology that will help them better utilize their existing resources.”
Small businesses can receive up to $1.5 million in funding from NSF. Companies must first have received a Phase I award (up to $225,000) to become eligible to apply for a Phase II grant (up to $750,000) to further develop and commercialize the technology. Small businesses with Phase II grants are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales.
Small businesses with innovative science and technology solutions, and commercial potential across almost all areas of technology are encouraged to apply. All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program undergo a rigorous merit-based review process. NSF’s deadlines for Phase I small business proposals occur twice annually, in June and December.
To learn more about the NSF SBIR/STTR program, visit: seedfund.nsf.gov.
About LYT
LYT modernizes cities and improves traffic flow with its ML and AI driven software platform. LYT’s Traffic Management platform works with existing infrastructure – no hardware replacement needed. The platform is secure, reliable, affordable, manageable, and obsolescence proof. Traffic flows better, public transportation arrives faster, and emergency services vehicles traverse municipalities with ease. LYT’s solutions make cities smarter, safer, and more environmentally friendly.
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About the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Programs
America’s Seed Fund powered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) awards nearly $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 $1.5 million in non-dilutive funds to support research and development (R&D), helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $7.5 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.
