Offers grants, loans, equity investments, and services to businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs to foster Maine’s innovation economy, grow and diversify the state economy, and create quality jobs.
Maine Technology Institute uses grants, loans, equity investments, and services to back businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs building Maine’s innovation economy. The largest recent awards show how that strategy works in practice: $1,000,000 to RockStep Solutions Inc for sales expansion in life sciences research software, and $1,000,000 to KinoTek LLC for growth in an AI-driven movement-metrics platform. Those deals sit alongside capital-heavy support for Maine production and processing, including $990,000 to Go Lab Inc for a first U.S. wood fiber insulation plant and $984,215 to Tanbark Molded Fiber Products for a hybrid molded-fiber clamshell pilot project and equipment purchase. The portfolio also reaches into infrastructure and commercialization for sectors such as biotechnology, advanced materials, forest products, marine technology, precision manufacturing, and information technology. A recurring pattern is funding for scale: production capacity, wet-lab and prototyping space, workforce retention, and business systems that help firms move from development into market growth. The foundation’s grants are mostly in Maine, and the recent record shows support for both product companies and the ecosystem organizations that serve them.
In biotechnology and life-sciences infrastructure, Maine Technology Institute gave $550,000 to Roux Institute for BioIN Incubator and BioPILOT Lab initiatives that would create incubator and prototyping space for life science companies. In food and agriculture, it awarded $530,000 to Springworks Farm Maine Inc for additional grow space, and $500,000 to Good Shepherd Food Bank for Maine’s first at-scale green vegetable processing supply chain. Forest products also appear repeatedly: $559,215 went to Maine Plywood USA to build a plywood mill for underlayment manufacturing, while $495,000 supported Robbins Lumber East Baldwin LLC for value-based scanning to improve utilization of eastern white pine. On the marine side, Shucks Maine Lobster LLC received $400,000 for innovative value-added lobster products using HPP technology.
Typical grant size is $19,600 at the 25th percentile, $29,400 at the median, and $100,000 at the 75th percentile, but the recent record also includes several seven-figure awards. Maine Technology Institute appears to work with repeat recipients and ongoing business support needs rather than only one-off project grants; North Spore LLC and other companies show up more than once across the recent grant list. It is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals. Several active programs accept unsolicited applications, including Business Innovation Funding, MERC, Event Sponsorship, and Innovation Ecosystem Development Program. The mix of grants, loans, and equity investments indicates a capital stack oriented toward business growth and commercialization.
$22.2M
$22.5M
$30.5M
$29.9M
Most grants fall between $20K and $100K, with a median of $29K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$29K
75th Percentile
$100K
Brian Whitney
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Giving is overwhelmingly concentrated in Maine: 95% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state, and the recipient country distribution is entirely U.S.-based. Recent grants cluster in Portland, including RockStep Solutions Inc, KinoTek LLC, and North Spore LLC, with other awards landing in Orono, Brewer, Saco, South Portland, and Belfast. Activity also reaches smaller Maine communities such as Madison, Lisbon, Bingham, Auburn, and West Gardiner. The pattern suggests statewide coverage with a strong tilt toward Maine-based companies and institutions.
It supports Maine-based businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs, with emphasis on innovation-driven enterprises in sectors such as biotechnology, composites and advanced materials, environmental technologies, forest products and agriculture, information technology, marine technology and aquaculture, and precision manufacturing.
The typical award profile is $19,600 at the 25th percentile, $29,400 at the median, and $100,000 at the 75th percentile. Recent grants also include much larger capital awards, including multiple $500,000 to $1,000,000 commitments.
Yes. Several active programs accept unsolicited applications, including Business Innovation Funding, the Maine Entrepreneurial Resource Corps, Event Sponsorship, the Innovation Ecosystem Development Program, and Federal Funding Application Support for SBIR/STTR.
It uses grants, loans, equity investments, and services. The program list also shows technical assistance, event sponsorships, a state-supported technology asset fund, and consultant subsidies through MERC.
Its geographic scope is local, and 95% of grants go to recipients in Maine. The recipient-country distribution is entirely U.S.-based in the recent grant data.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Current and upcoming funding from Maine Technology Institute that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Not specified in the provided content.
Deadline: Applications open August 12 and close October 14, 2026; FAQ says the next round is expected to open in early fall 2026.
Who can apply: Maine-based business with leadership based in Maine; innovation must be within MTI's technology sectors; technical or scientific innovation that is substantially different from existing alternatives; customer validation and market need; clear economic impact in Maine; access to at least 1:1 matching funds. Nonprofits are only eligible in limited cases.
Deadline: No deadline; applicants may apply at any time.
Who can apply: Under $5 million in annual revenue; Maine-based organization; innovation must fall within one of MTI’s seven targeted technology sectors; innovation must enable additional economic impact in Maine; access to matching funds (client pays remaining project fee).
Deadline: No fixed deadlines indicated; interest form and applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset Economic Development Corporation | Skowhegan, ME | $3,000,000 | 2026 | Somerset Forest Recovery Program. |
| Hancock Lumber Company Inc | Casco, ME | $990,000 | 2026 | Bethel Value Added. |
| Stratton Lumber Inc | Stratton, ME | $990,000 | 2026 | Hurst Boiler, Grinder and Auto-wrapper. |
| Roux Institute | Portland, ME | $560,000 | 2026 | BioIN Incubator and BioPILOT Lab, a collaboration between the Northeastern/Roux Institute and the University of Southern Maine.; Future of Healthcare Founder Residency; Life Science Impact Forum; Startup Solutions: Immigrant Welcome Center; The Maine Summer Accelerator at the Roux Institute. |
| EME Biofuels LLC | Woodstock, VT | $500,000 | 2026 | EME Biofuels. |
| Tanbark Molded Fiber Products Inc | Portland, ME | $499,317 | 2026 | Electricity Upgrade to expand Production Capacity Video Production for Marketing Assets. |
| Robbins Lumber East Baldwin LLC | Searsmont, ME | $495,000 | 2026 | Better Utilization of the Eastern White Pine Resource through Implementation of Value-based Scanning. |
| Sappi North America Inc | Westbrook, ME | $495,000 | 2026 | Improvement of pulp and paper mill productivity when softwood chip ratio increases beyond 15% during the Copulp process at Somerset mill. |
| Godfrey Forest Arizona LLC | Marblehead, MA | $490,000 | 2026 | Godfrey Forest Maine OSB Mill. |
| T&D Wood Energy LLC | Sanford, ME | $450,000 | 2026 | Acquiring two shuttered facilities and expanding existing facility to meet rapidly increasing demand. |
| Maine Space Corporation | Augusta, ME | $426,413 | 2026 | Building Maines Space Knowledge Cluster in Space Applications. |
| OPAL Build LLC (dba NotchSB) | Belfast, ME | $339,617 | 2026 | Creating Resiliency in Residential Housing Construction; OPAL Build - Unlocking Affordable Housing through Sustainability. |
| Maine Plywood USA | Bingham, ME | $273,285 | 2026 | LEGAL COUNCIL: To determine whether or not to continue as an LLC or become a C-corp. In addition with the oncoming USDA loan and advising on raising money from Equity partners; Maine Plywood; Powering the next generation of sustainable plywood for Maine. |
| Nautical Farms LLC | Machias, ME | $255,000 | 2026 | Digital Marketing & E-Commerce; Nautical Farms LLC Expansion. |
| Maine Canned Fish | Topsham, ME | $250,000 | 2026 | Maine Canned Fish Startup. |
| Maine Electric Boat Company LLC | Biddeford, ME | $250,000 | 2026 | Electric Propulsion Workforce Training. |
| Grandy Organics LLC | Hiram, ME | $250,000 | 2026 | Build out management team and automate production to make Grandy Organics a more resilient business. |
| The Good Crust LLC | Canaan, ME | $250,000 | 2026 | Good Crust Builds Resilience with Infrastructure Expansion to Serve Schools. |
| Washburn & Doughty Associates Inc | Boothbay, ME | $250,000 | 2026 | Hiring Initiatives: Human Resources Director, Project Manager and Hybrid Support Engineers; Purchase and Implementation of ERP System. |
| Looma LLC | South Portland, ME | $250,000 | 2026 | Addition of Volume Manufacturing to Looma's Services. |
| Maine Grains Inc | Skowhegan, ME | $250,000 | 2026 | Building capacity to manufacture upcycled nutritious grain cereals and snacks at Maine Grains. |
| Eagle Point Energy Center LLC | Orrington, ME | $250,000 | 2026 | Eagle Point Phase II Process Upgrade. |
| Great Northern Salmon Inc | Millinocket, ME | $250,000 | 2026 | Implementation of critical path initiatives to ensure construction start on schedule. |
| Short Creek Meats LLC | Kennebunk, ME | $238,150 | 2026 | Mechanizing Short Creek Meats' Plant Operations to Address Labor Shortages. |
| Maine Center for Enterprise Development | Portland, ME | $234,382 | 2026 | 2024 Maine Food Producers Showcase and Golden Fork Awards; FoodTech Maine; MOU. |
| University of Maine System | Orono, ME | $214,577 | 2026 | 2nd Annual Maine Artificial Intelligence Conference; Maine Blue Economy Innovation Summit; Piloting Innovation in Wild Blueberry: Reducing harvest "shrink; The Windstorm Challenge; UMaine Student Symposium: Research and Creative Activity; Vision & Roadmap for Maine's Forest Sector.; Venturing Forth - Hybrid Project. |
| Southpaw Packing Company Inc | Windham, ME | $214,106 | 2026 | Southpaws Enrichment Project. |
| Zero Energy Homes LLC | Southwest Harbor, ME | $200,000 | 2026 | Zero Energy Homes: Investing in a New Forest Product for Maine. |
| Sea Meadow Marine Foundation | Yarmouth, ME | $200,000 | 2026 | Development and Management of Working Waterfront Support Programs; Working Waterfront Support Programs. Infrastructure and Organizational Sustainability Improvement. |
| Nearpeer Inc | Portland, ME | $170,000 | 2026 | Accelerating Nearpeer's growth with improves marketing positioning, messaging, and go-to-market materials.; Fueling Nearpeers national growth and Maine economic impact. |
| bluShift Aerospace Inc | Brunswick, ME | $160,000 | 2026 | Commercial Launch Licensing; bluShift Aerospace Fractional CFO and Financial Model Forecasting Independent Contractor. |
| Wild Ocean Aquaculture | Portland, ME | $159,000 | 2026 | Innovation, Automation, and Diversification in a Regenerative Maine Aquaculture Company Wild Ocean Aquaculture, LLC - Fractional CFO resources - DWedick Financial Services, LLC. |
| Defendify Inc | Portland, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | 24/7 Global Cybersecurity Operations Center in Maine. |
| KinoTek Inc | Portland, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | Kinotek - Continued Innovation and Expansion. |
| Mingle Healthcare Solutions Inc | South Paris, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | Mingle Health COVID Recovery. |
| Springworks Farm Maine Inc | Lisbon, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | Springworks Farm; Phase I Expansion. |
| VETRO Inc | Portland, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | The VETRO Workforce Development Project. |
| Biofine Developments Northeast Inc | Portland, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | Lincoln Biorefinery Financing Package Development. |
| Our People Inc | Portland, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | OurPeople Answers AI. |
| Lyman Morse Technologies LLC | Camden, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | Advanced Manufacturing and Training Center. |
| Turning Acquisitions LLC | Buckfield, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | Expand WWTF's Reach with New Products and New Technology. |
| GenoTyping Center of America Inc | Waterville, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | Quality Systems Improvement and Revenue Acceleration Project. |
| MedRhythms Inc | Portland, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| Island Institute | Rockland, ME | $150,000 | 2026 | Sea Change: Electric Propulsion for Maine's Working Waterfronts. |
| Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center | Portland, ME | $129,064 | 2026 | Business Foundations Bootcamp Maine Immigrant Business Accelerator. |
| WR Allen Inc | Orland, ME | $127,970 | 2026 | IQF Wild Blueberry Bagging System. |
| ReGenerate Energy Holdings LLC | Stratton, ME | $126,853 | 2026 | Biochar Production. |
| Maine Laboratories LLC | Norridgewock, ME | $122,393 | 2026 | Maine Laboratories Doubles in size to Support National PFAS Testing Backlog. |
| MM Platform Co | Rockland, ME | $120,000 | 2026 | Roamr - Accelerating a new economy of movement; Roamr Self-Service Administration Website. |
| Upstart Maine | Orono, ME | $114,000 | 2026 | Strengthening the Bangor Region's Agri-Food Tech Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. |
Somerset Economic Development Corporation
$3,000,000Somerset Forest Recovery Program.
Hancock Lumber Company Inc
$990,000Bethel Value Added.
Stratton Lumber Inc
$990,000Hurst Boiler, Grinder and Auto-wrapper.
BioIN Incubator and BioPILOT Lab, a collaboration between the Northeastern/Roux Institute and the University of Southern Maine.; Future of Healthcare Founder Residency; Life Science Impact Forum; Startup Solutions: Immigrant Welcome Center; The Maine Summer Accelerator at the Roux Institute.
EME Biofuels LLC
$500,000EME Biofuels.
Tanbark Molded Fiber Products Inc
Electricity Upgrade to expand Production Capacity Video Production for Marketing Assets.
Robbins Lumber East Baldwin LLC
$495,000Better Utilization of the Eastern White Pine Resource through Implementation of Value-based Scanning.
Sappi North America Inc
$495,000Improvement of pulp and paper mill productivity when softwood chip ratio increases beyond 15% during the Copulp process at Somerset mill.
Godfrey Forest Arizona LLC
$490,000Godfrey Forest Maine OSB Mill.
T&D Wood Energy LLC
$450,000Acquiring two shuttered facilities and expanding existing facility to meet rapidly increasing demand.
Maine Space Corporation
$426,413Building Maines Space Knowledge Cluster in Space Applications.
OPAL Build LLC (dba NotchSB)
$339,617Creating Resiliency in Residential Housing Construction; OPAL Build - Unlocking Affordable Housing through Sustainability.
Maine Plywood USA
$273,285LEGAL COUNCIL: To determine whether or not to continue as an LLC or become a C-corp. In addition with the oncoming USDA loan and advising on raising money from Equity partners; Maine Plywood; Powering the next generation of sustainable plywood for Maine.
Nautical Farms LLC
$255,000Digital Marketing & E-Commerce; Nautical Farms LLC Expansion.
Maine Canned Fish
$250,000Maine Canned Fish Startup.
Maine Electric Boat Company LLC
$250,000Electric Propulsion Workforce Training.
Grandy Organics LLC
$250,000Build out management team and automate production to make Grandy Organics a more resilient business.
The Good Crust LLC
$250,000Good Crust Builds Resilience with Infrastructure Expansion to Serve Schools.
Washburn & Doughty Associates Inc
$250,000Hiring Initiatives: Human Resources Director, Project Manager and Hybrid Support Engineers; Purchase and Implementation of ERP System.
Looma LLC
$250,000Addition of Volume Manufacturing to Looma's Services.
Maine Grains Inc
$250,000Building capacity to manufacture upcycled nutritious grain cereals and snacks at Maine Grains.
Eagle Point Energy Center LLC
$250,000Eagle Point Phase II Process Upgrade.
Great Northern Salmon Inc
$250,000Implementation of critical path initiatives to ensure construction start on schedule.
Short Creek Meats LLC
$238,150Mechanizing Short Creek Meats' Plant Operations to Address Labor Shortages.
Maine Center for Enterprise Development
$234,3822024 Maine Food Producers Showcase and Golden Fork Awards; FoodTech Maine; MOU.
University of Maine System
$214,5772nd Annual Maine Artificial Intelligence Conference; Maine Blue Economy Innovation Summit; Piloting Innovation in Wild Blueberry: Reducing harvest "shrink; The Windstorm Challenge; UMaine Student Symposium: Research and Creative Activity; Vision & Roadmap for Maine's Forest Sector.; Venturing Forth - Hybrid Project.
Southpaw Packing Company Inc
$214,106Southpaws Enrichment Project.
Zero Energy Homes LLC
$200,000Zero Energy Homes: Investing in a New Forest Product for Maine.
Sea Meadow Marine Foundation
$200,000Development and Management of Working Waterfront Support Programs; Working Waterfront Support Programs. Infrastructure and Organizational Sustainability Improvement.
Nearpeer Inc
$170,000Accelerating Nearpeer's growth with improves marketing positioning, messaging, and go-to-market materials.; Fueling Nearpeers national growth and Maine economic impact.
bluShift Aerospace Inc
$160,000Commercial Launch Licensing; bluShift Aerospace Fractional CFO and Financial Model Forecasting Independent Contractor.
Wild Ocean Aquaculture
$159,000Innovation, Automation, and Diversification in a Regenerative Maine Aquaculture Company Wild Ocean Aquaculture, LLC - Fractional CFO resources - DWedick Financial Services, LLC.
Defendify Inc
$150,00024/7 Global Cybersecurity Operations Center in Maine.
KinoTek Inc
$150,000Kinotek - Continued Innovation and Expansion.
Mingle Healthcare Solutions Inc
$150,000Mingle Health COVID Recovery.
Springworks Farm Maine Inc
$150,000Springworks Farm; Phase I Expansion.
VETRO Inc
$150,000The VETRO Workforce Development Project.
Biofine Developments Northeast Inc
$150,000Lincoln Biorefinery Financing Package Development.
Our People Inc
$150,000OurPeople Answers AI.
Lyman Morse Technologies LLC
$150,000Advanced Manufacturing and Training Center.
Turning Acquisitions LLC
$150,000Expand WWTF's Reach with New Products and New Technology.
GenoTyping Center of America Inc
$150,000Quality Systems Improvement and Revenue Acceleration Project.
MedRhythms Inc
$150,000General Support
Sea Change: Electric Propulsion for Maine's Working Waterfronts.
Business Foundations Bootcamp Maine Immigrant Business Accelerator.
WR Allen Inc
$127,970IQF Wild Blueberry Bagging System.
ReGenerate Energy Holdings LLC
$126,853Biochar Production.
Maine Laboratories LLC
$122,393Maine Laboratories Doubles in size to Support National PFAS Testing Backlog.
MM Platform Co
$120,000Roamr - Accelerating a new economy of movement; Roamr Self-Service Administration Website.
Upstart Maine
$114,000Strengthening the Bangor Region's Agri-Food Tech Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.
