Press Release

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – The U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force have released a Request for Information, launching the first round of competition in the xTechGlobal Artificial Intelligence Challenge. The ten finalists will each receive $10,000 as part of the first-ever innovation competition hosted jointly by the tri-services.

The RFI is a call for white paper proposals from small and medium companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa that are interested in participating in the contest, which is seeking robust AI-enabled algorithms, services and software tools to manage, integrate and process disparate data for rapid decision making. AI is a critical technology for the military; it is used to gather data, interpret it, and send the information to commanders and critical combatants at the tactical edge.

In addition to the cash prize, finalists will receive an invitation to participate in a mentoring co-hort led by Fed Tech, a program that matches would-be entrepreneurs to technologies developed in federal labs. Finalists will also have an opportunity to pitch their ideas at the Pitch Event, which is the second round of the competition.

The virtual Pitch Event will be held in early September from the Imperial College London I-Hub. The ten finalists will brief a panel of AI experts, and the top three winners will be announced September 10, 2021.

The top three winners will receive $70, 000, $50,000, and $30,000 respectively, as well as name recognition in the tri-services-sponsored challenge. Participants may also be part of another competition for potential follow-on contract awards or cooperative agreements.

In addition to the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, Atlantic, other members of the team include: the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, which executes the xTech program, and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, which manages the xTech program.

DEVCOM Atlantic is currently soliciting judges with AI expertise across the Army, DOD and International defense departments in the UK, Germany and NATO to participate in the xTechGlobal Challenge.

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The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, is home to thousands of the Army’s scientists, engineers, technicians, and analysts located around the globe that leverage cutting-edge technologies to empower the American Warfighter with the data and abilities to see, sense, make decisions and act faster than our adversaries – today and in the future.

DEVCOM Atlantic, which is one of three DEVCOM Forward Elements, discovers world class research, development and technology innovations with the potential to enhance U.S. systems and identifies international science and technology collaboration opportunities by creating connections between the Army Modernization Enterprise and academia, industry and partner or allied governments and labs. DEVCOM Atlantic also shapes future force requirements and improves Army systems design via collaboration between Service Combatant Commands and the Army Modernization Enterprise. In addition to DEVCOM Atlantic, DEVCOM’s other Forward Elements include DEVCOM Indo Pacific and DEVCOM Americas.