Air Force calls for submissions for Air Force Pitch Day effort
NewsJanuary 16, 2019
ARLINGTON, Va. U.S. Air Force officials are looking to invest up to $40 million and are asking for submissions from start-ups and small businesses as part of a larger rapid contracting effort. The event -- Air Force Pitch day -- is modeled after commercial investment pitch competitions to deliver a faster, smarter approach to compete for ideas in the accelerating technology ecosystem.
The Air Force Pitch Day is designed as a fast-track program to put companies on one-page contracts and same-day awards with the swipe of a government credit card. The opportunity affords small businesses access to the military market as well as non-dilutive capital, which is funding that does not require a company to share its ownership.
“Mind-blowing ideas are being birthed in U.S. start-up companies, but the Pentagon largely misses out on them,” says Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. “We have to do business at the speed of ideas so we can both inspire and accelerate start-up creativity towards national security challenges. The only way we’re going to do that is by making sure partnering with the Air Force is easy and energizing.”
Submissions are open to ideas furthering national security in air, space and cyberspace with a special emphasis on three areas:
- Command, control, communications, intelligence and network technologies
- Battlefield air operations family of systems technologies
- Digital technologies
Deadline to submit proposals is February 6. Selected candidates will be invited to pitch their ideas in New York on March 6 for an opportunity to compete for an Air Force contract valued up to $158,000. For more information: https://www.afsbirsttr.af.mil/Program/Air-Force-Pitch-Day/
