NSF X-Labs represent a bold, flexible, and outcomes-driven initiative designed to build and accelerate novel platform technologies capable of unlocking entirely new sectors, including new fields of scientific inquiry. The program will support full-time research and development (R&D) teams focused on use-inspired scientific breakthroughs and foundational platform technologies that traditional university and industry labs cannot easily address. NSF X-Labs teams will benefit from ambitious R&D goals, operational autonomy, milestone-based funding, and the ability to engage across academia, industry, national laboratories, and nonprofit sectors. NSF X-Labs will bet on ambitious, full-time teams working with urgency and purpose, and provide them with the structure, resources, and flexibility necessary to cultivate early-stage platform technologies that will accelerate breakthroughs and unlock entirely new sectors of the economy.