By Sarah Hepburn, Office of Army Innovation Programs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army xTech Program, in partnership with six Army acquisition organizations – including Joint Program Executive Office Armaments & Ammunition; Program Executive Offices Command, Control, Communications & Network; Combat Support & Combat Service Support; Enterprise; Ground Combat Systems; and Intelligence Electronic Warfare & Sensors – has selected 24 winners of the xTechIgnite competition. The competition awarded $400,000 in cash prizes and created a pathway to $28,750,000 million in potential follow-on Army Small Business Innovation Research contract awards.

xTechIgnite, launched at the inaugural Army Demand Signal Forum, connected small businesses, the broader defense innovation ecosystem and the Army to align bold ideas with real mission needs. The competition targeted critical capability gaps across participating PEOs by accelerating novel technologies toward real-world impacts.

The effort sought U.S.-based small businesses developing innovative technologies aligned with eight Army priorities.

Topic 1: Innovative Operations for Treatment and Processing of Wastewater

• Borup Solutions LLC, Continuous Treatment of ARMD Wastewater with PFACE: Perchlorate Fuel Aqueous Contaminant Extraction
• Franklin Engineering, ARMD Wastewater Treatment and Processing Upgrades and Improvements
• Mainstream Engineering Corporation, Cyclonic Solid Removal and Membrane Brine Concentration
• US Clean Water Technology LLC, Electronic Wastewater Cleanup for the Elimination of Non-Hazardous Brine Water

Topic 2: Generative AI-enabled Tactical Network

• Assured Information Security, Inc., Generative Realistic Utility for Network Testing and Simulation (GRUNTS)
• Guidepad, Adaptive Generative AI Simulation for Next-Gen Army C2
• OFFSET3, AresNet – Adaptive Resilient Enhanced Simulation Network
• Sherpa 6, GAN-Driven Tactical Networking: Advancing Autonomous Comms for the Battlefield

Topic 3: Bridge Health Monitoring (BHM) System

• aRoboticsCompany, Inc., A Bridge Too Far: The Bridge-R Sensor – Self-Contained Sensing Kit for Bridge Health Assessment
• Ascender Systems, Inc., Ensuring Structural Integrity: Ascender Systems’ Robotic System for Reliable Bridge Health Monitoring
• Guidedwave (FBS, Inc.), BridgePro: Modular Multi-Physics Bridge Monitoring and Prognostics Solution

Topic 4: Ruggedized Sensors to Increase Driving Visibility and Vehicle Safety

• Lunewave, Inc., Ruggedized All-Weather Next-GEn mmW Radar with Luneburg Lens
• SoloPulse, SoloPulse ADAS Radar Sensor
• TeraDAR, See Always with Terahertz Sensing
• Voyant Photonics, Inc., Rugged FMCW LIDAR for Army Ground Vehicles

Topic 5: Artificial Intelligence for Aided Driving of Ground Combat Vehicles

• Deepnight, AI-Enabled Night Vision for Intelligent Combat Vehicle Operation
• Overland AI, OverView Aided Driving System

Topic 6: AI – Enabled Source Selection

• Innovo LLC, Making Source Selection Simple using Cutting Edge AI
• Valid Evaluation, Inc., Attention Is All We Have

Topic 7: AI – Enabled Portfolio Management

• AVER, LLC, AI-Driven Optimization for Army Acquisitions
• Pryon, Inc., Pryon Ignites AI for Acquisitions and Portfolio Management
• Usul, Usul

Topic 8: Novel AI Techniques for Insights in Various Environments

• Pytho AI, Trusted Multi-Agent System for All-Domain Insights at Machine Speed
• Unstructured Technologies, Inc., Transforming Multimodal Data into an AI-Ready Common Data Fabric

After receiving more than 700 competition submissions, the Army selected 64 finalists to receive a $2,500 cash award and pitch their technologies to Department of Defense experts in June. Following the 64 technology pitches, the Army selected 24 winners, noted above, to receive an additional $10,000 cash award and the opportunity to submit a Phase I or Direct to Phase II Army SBIR proposal for contracts valued at up to $250,000 and $2 million, respectively, to further develop their technologies.

Army Demand Signal Forum

xTechIgnite launched on Feb. 6 alongside the inaugural Army Demand Signal Forum at Stanford University, a live event hosted by America’s Frontier Fund, Venrock and The Stanford Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. The event connected innovators with Army leaders, providing deeper insight into technology needs, operational capabilities and viable development pathways.

Six PEOs briefed an audience of 170 investors, startups and industry leaders on their top program priorities, facilitating close industry alignment with actual Army requirements. Direct engagements like this event enhance the Army’s ability to quickly identify and adopt cutting-edge technologies that address urgent capability gaps.

Maj. Nefjoveny Rosa, PEO IEW&S, discusses Project Linchpin, a program that aims to deliver commercial AI capabilities to the Army.  (U.S. Army)

About the Army xTech Program

Since its inception in 2018, the Army xTech Program has become a catalyst for innovation, bridging the gap between emerging technology developers and Army stakeholders. More than just competitions, xTech provides participants with essential feedback, training and meaningful opportunities to network. By hosting multiple competitions each year, the program accelerates the development of dual-use technologies that directly address Army needs, enabling innovators to refine their solutions, navigate the defense ecosystem and forge partnerships that deliver meaningful capabilities to Soldiers.

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Any references to commercial products or services are not, and shall not be, construed as official Army or DOD endorsements.