On October 17, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) extended the deadline for its DARPA Venture Horizons for Commercial Strategy request for information (RFI). Responses are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on November 25.
DARPA’s primary mission is to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies that support our national security. DARPA Commercial Strategy seeks to provide opportunities to connect top-tier investors with DARPA Program Managers, R&D performers and other DARPA personnel through a new initiative called DARPA Venture Horizons (“Venture Horizons”) to amplify the impact of DARPA’s work in breakthrough technologies.
DARPA is a unique organization that has consistently created game-changing technologies by building and empowering some of the strongest teams in the technical world. DARPA teams are charged with taking on the highest technical and business risks to create breakthrough technologies. The ultimate results have included not only game-changing military capabilities, such as precision weapons and stealth technology, but also icons of modern society, such as the Internet, mRNA vaccines, automated voice recognition and language translation, and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers small enough to embed in consumer devices.
DARPA goes to great lengths to identify, recruit, and support skilled program managers (PMs), industry technologists, military subject matter experts, and academic researchers (“DARPA experts”) who are at the top of their respective fields, seeking the opportunity to push the limits of their respective disciplines. These experts, who are foundational to DARPA’s history of success, come from academia, industry, military, and government agencies to serve limited tenures, generally three to five years. These tenure limits for government positions help ensure that DARPA experts move rapidly through technology project iteration with the goal of producing proofs of concept or retiring projects quickly. Tenure limits also ensure that DARPA produces high-caliber technical subject matter experts capable of continuing to advance impactful technologies.
This RFI seeks to identify commensurate talent from a select group of top-tier investors to which DARPA may provide opportunities for continued investment in DARPA technologies through engagements with our subject matter experts. Respondents to this RFI may include family offices, angel investors, venture capital firms, corporate venture capital firms, and private equity (PE) or buyout firms (1) with pedigrees and track records of commercializing technology, and (2) that are interested in partnering with DARPA to advance the Agency’s portfolio of technologies. RFI responses should explain investment flexibility or mandates (e.g., early-stage equity, growth equity, licensing, debt (including venture debt or private credit capacity)). Responses should also focus on communicating to DARPA why respondents are likely to contribute to the Agency’s mission.
Review the DARPA Venture Horizons RFI.
Source: SAM
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