A statement like that, without linking to any of said conversations on SBIR grants, provides very little value to the discussion. If you could link to said threads that would be lovely.
Matthew Weinberg, former Special Advisor to the SBA's Office of Investment and Innovation, disagrees with you. With respect to the SBIR program, he said:
"It’s fundamentally astounding that the federal government—not private venture capital firms or banks—is the entity backing these moonshot investments that end up changing the world[1]."
That quote comes from this Fundera blog post [1], which speaks positively about the SBIR program:
> If your small business focuses on developing scientific or technological breakthroughs, we’ll tell you exactly how to get the SBIR funds you need to change the world.
Given that, I would assume Matthew Weinberg agrees with GP, and means "astounding" with a positive connotation.
