Non-Traditional Grants

DevX Autonomy: Open Call Solicitation for Innovative AUS Solutions is sponsored by U.S. Army Applications Lab (AAL). DevX Autonomy Open Call Solicitation for Innovative AUS Solutions is a grant from the U. S. Army Applications Lab (AAL) that funds autonomous and unmanned systems solutions across hardware, software, and services to advance Army capabilities.

The Solutions Marketplace is IARPA's attempt to remove the single biggest barrier between a small AI company and the intelligence community: the multi-month proposal burden required before anyone in government even sees what you built. Instead of a written proposal against a specific BAA topic, innovators submit a five-minute unclassified video pitch and basic supporting information through an online portal. Submissions are reviewed by subject matter experts drawn from the IC, industry and academia; those judged awardable are tagged by strategic focus area and made visible to authorized government users across the community, who can then pursue the technology through their own acquisition vehicles. The mechanics matter for planning: the call is open on a rolling basis from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027, with assessments conducted monthly, so there is no single deadline to hit and a company can time a submission to when its capability is demonstrable rather than when a solicitation happens to open. Eligibility is deliberately wide - open to all U.S.-based companies traditional and nontraditional, large and small business, new entrants, universities, nonprofits and individuals - which makes it one of the lowest-friction federal entry points for an AI startup with no prior government past performance. The important caveat is what the Marketplace is not. It is not itself a grant or a funded award; being tagged awardable creates visibility and a rapid acquisition pathway, not money. Companies should treat a submission as business development into the IC with an unusually cheap cost of entry, and should be prepared for the follow-on contracting effort with whichever IC element expresses interest. Submissions go through iarpamarketplace.us, with program information at iarpa.gov/marketplace, and IARPA posted a corresponding solicitation notice on SAM.gov. Submitted material must be unclassified.