Challenge
A key FedTrax client is a successful Federal Systems Integrator (FSI) in the government market, serving primarily the Department of Defense (DoD). The company has invested wisely in its in-house Independent Research and Development (IRAD) group, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for the military. In order to increase resilience to an uncertain Federal market, the company wanted to develop a saleable solution, a product by any other name, that could be applied to multiple use cases across target markets. Success was difficult to come by.
Action
FedTrax worked with the company to examine its IRAD portfolio of offerings. We helped them separate best practices from good ideas to ultimately determine what was a commercially viable product to be able to sell to the DoD and other government customers in the way they want to acquire things. The company developed an incredibly useful tool for AI defense innovation against cyber attacks, applicable to most AI models and data sets across a variety of domains.
Through FedTrax outreach, the company successfully briefed multiple DoD entities, most notably the Army, to raise awareness, define the risks of current AI products in the DoD pipeline of tools, and refine the solution. In addition, FedTrax researched and discovered a technology call for AI innovation in the form of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project competition that the client could enter, with the promise of a Direct to Phase II SBIR opportunity.
Result
FedTrax’ Federal Systems Integrator client entered the competition, and after demonstration at a live event, was awarded a Direct to Phase II defense innovation SBIR worth 7 figures. FedTrax also helped with content and review of the necessary final Request for Proposal (RFP) submission. This funding helped further advance the technology, raising Technology Readiness Level (TRL) from 3 to 6, and providing leverage for additional Federal market sales for this technology. Even better, this success helped change the company approach to the market to proactively develop commercially viable products, presenting an entirely new future revenue stream and safeguard against obsolescence and commoditization.