DESCRIPTION

The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) is announcing the second cohort of the Army xTechSearch prize competition to be featured at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Global Force Meeting in Huntsville, AL, from March 26-28, 2019. xTechSearch will highlight opportunities for nontraditional defense partners to collaborate with the Army to tackle the most poignant Army modernization challenges.The ASA(ALT) recognizes that the Army must enhance engagements with the entrepreneurial funded community, small businesses, and other non-traditional defense partners, by: 

• Understanding the spectrum of technologies being developed commercially that may benefit the Army; 
• Integrating the sector of nontraditional innovators into the Army’s research and development ecosystem; and 
• Providing mentorship and expertise to accelerate, mature, and transition technologies of interest to the Army. 

The xTechSearch program will provide resourcing to select businesses to demonstrate proof of concept for their technologies pertaining to Army challenges. The program will also integrate these nontraditional innovators into the Army’s Science and Technology (S&T) ecosystem by providing cooperative research opportunities with Army labs, including access to the Army’s organic intellectual and technical capital. xTechSearch is an opportunity for businesses to pitch novel technology solutions – a new application for an existing technology or a new technology concept entirely – to the Army. The Army will provide non-dilutive seed prizes for the companies to demonstrate proof of concept in an Army-relevant challenge area. 

SCHEDULE AND PRIZES

PHASE 1: Concept White Paper

Nov 9, 2018 - Dec 31, 2018

Up to 60 winners

$4,000/Winner

PHASE 2: Technology Pitches

Feb 25, 2019 - Mar 8, 2019

Up to 25 winners

$10,000/Winner

PHASE 3: AUSA Innovators’ Corner

Mar 26, 2019 - Mar 28, 2019

Up to 12 winners

$120,000/Winner

PHASE 4: Capstone Demonstration

Oct 14, 2019 - Oct 16, 2019

1 winner

$250,000/Winner

ELIGIBILITY

The entities allowed to participate in this competition are small businesses as defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. § 638). Eligible businesses must fall within the Small Business Administration’s size standard for the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes 541713, 541714 and 541715: 1,000 employees (under 13 CFR Part 121 Section 121.201). Sole proprietors may participate in xTechSearch if the individual is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and the business is registered in the United States. Foreign companies may participate in xTechSearch by establishing a US domestic business relationship (e.g., wholly owned US subsidiary) or partner with a US based company. Companies that have previously participated in the xTechSearch competition are eligible to participate for new technology concepts or improvements to prior submitted proposals. Each company: 

• Shall provide registration information and upload proposal submission in the Challenge.gov portal by 11:59 PM PST on December 31, 2018; 
• Shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States; 
• May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment