By Eleanor Kent, Army FUZE 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the Army FUZE xTech Program has expanded to address increasingly specific Army modernization priorities—from quantum technologies to autonomous systems to advanced manufacturing and low-cost interceptors—xTech|Search has continued to serve a distinct role. Today, the Army launched xTech|Search 10, the tenth iteration of its flagship open-topic prize competition, inviting U.S. startups and small businesses to introduce commercially developed technologies with the potential to support Army missions. Offering up to $1 million in cash prizes, the competition continues utilizing a proven model that has helped broaden how the Army engages with commercial innovation since 2018. 

This open-topic approach reflects a fundamental reality of today’s technology landscape: many of the innovations that influence tomorrow’s battlefields begin outside the defense industrial base. Instead, they emerge in commercial markets, are refined through private investment, and solve problems that aren’t inherently connected to military operations. The Army’s challenge is not simply accelerating innovation once a capability gap has been identified—it’s recognizing technologies with potential military relevance and shaping how those capabilities are developed to meet warfighter needs. 

“The Army can’t predict where its next advantage will come from, but it can ensure it’s looking in the right places,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Director of Army FUZE. “xTech|Search creates an opportunity for the Army to engage with innovators across a wide range of markets, understand how their technologies could contribute to future missions, and build partnerships that help transition promising ideas into fielded capabilities for our Soldiers.” 

Across its first nine iterations, xTech|Search has awarded more than $14 million in cash prizes to more than 820 semifinalist, finalist, and winning companies, creating one of the Army’s longest-running pathways for engaging non-traditional innovators. For Army organizations, xTech|Search offers visibility into solutions that could have relevance across multiple mission sets. For startups and small businesses, the competition provides an opportunity to engage directly with Army stakeholders, demonstrate commercial technology in a defense context, and form relationships that continue well beyond the competition itself.  

Those relationships have become one of the competition’s defining outcomes. xTech|Search alumni have gone on to secure Army Small Businesses Innovation Research (SBIR) awards, participate in operational Soldier exercises, and continue refining technologies alongside Army organizations. For example, xTech|Search 3 winner TRX Systems has advanced technologies that supported the development of the Army’s Dismounted Assured Positioning System Generation II (DAPS GEN II), which was approved for full-rate production in 2024 and became a directed, funded Army Program of Record. xTech|Search 4 finalist Bounce Imaging used the competition funding and feedback to accelerate development of its Pit Viper panoramic thermal camera. xTech|Search 5 finalist Compound Eye, which entered the competition with no prior Department of War experience, later received a $1.56 million Direct to Phase II Army SBIR award. More recently, xTech|Search 9 winner Icarus leveraged the competition’s follow-on SBIR award to expand its participation in live Soldier exercises, including Valiant Shield in June of 2026. Their experiences reflect a broader objective of xTech|Search: identifying promising technologies is only the beginning; creating pathways to mature them into operational capabilities is the greater goal. 

Supporting that journey is the xTech Accelerator, a structured program that helps xTech|Search finalists better understand how to navigate the defense ecosystem. Working alongside Army and other Department of War (DoW) experts, acquisition professionals, and experienced advisors, participants refine transition strategies, strengthen commercialization plans, and gain insight into the organizations, stakeholders, and pathways within the Army that can help advance their solutions. xTech|Search is designed to equip companies with the relationships and strategic understanding needed to pursue long-term engagement across the Army innovation ecosystem. 

Applications for xTech|Search 10 are now open to eligible U.S. small businesses developing capabilities with potential Army relevance. Participants will compete for up to $1 million in cash prizes and Phase I Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and, for the first time, Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards valued at up to $300,000 each. Finalists will also participate in the xTech Accelerator before presenting their technologies during the competition finals event at eMerge Americas in March 2027. 

As the Army continues adapting to a dynamic technological landscape, xTech|Search remains intentionally focused on ensuring the Army continues to discover not only the technologies it is looking for today, but the ones that could shape the fight tomorrow. 

Join the mission. Apply by 5 p.m. ET on October 19, 2026.  

About the Army FUZE xTech Program 

The Army FUZE xTech Program is the Army’s premier tool for scouting and accelerating dual-use technologies that directly enhance Soldier readiness and mission success. Through dynamic prize competitions like xTech|Search, xTech identifies breakthrough solutions and opens doors for nontraditional companies to engage with and deliver capabilities to the Army. Since its launch in 2018, xTech has awarded over $30 million in non-dilutive cash prizes across 50+ competitions – fueling innovation pipelines and delivering transformative technologies that matter on the battlefield. 

Learn more at the Army PIT website: https://pit.army.mil/pathway/xtech/  

About Army FUZE  

Army FUZE is the engine driving innovation within the Army’s integrated innovation ecosystem, strategically aligned under the Army’s Pathway for Innovation and Technology (PIT). By uniting key programs such as xTech, Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer, Manufacturing Technology, and the Technology Maturation Initiative within a synchronized framework, FUZE accelerates advanced capabilities, strengthens the industrial base, and delivers readiness at the speed of relevance. Operating with a venture capitalist mindset, FUZE scouts broadly, takes calculated risks, and scales the most promising technologies, ensuring taxpayer dollars are directed toward solutions with both Army operational relevance and commercial viability. Through its alignment with PIT, FUZE underscores the Army’s commitment to fostering innovation, streamlining technology transitions, and bridging the gap between emerging technologies and critical operational needs to maintain military overmatch.