The national security mission could use some help. The nation has a huge need for advanced technologies that can improve defense and intelligence capabilities. The good news is American innovation is proceeding at breakneck speed along multiple fronts, including space systems, energy solutions, robotics, biotech, quantum tech, materials science and advanced automation for manufacturing. The bad news is it can be hard to work with the federal government.

This post continues our special series focused on helping startups succeed in service to national security missions (see: Doing Business With the Federal Government: An Introductory Guide for the Startup CEO, Understanding the SBIR/STTR Process, and An Enterprise Software Licensing Strategy DOGE Would Love). In this report we focus on the organizations the government has set up that are designed to help onboard advanced tech. Knowing these organizations should inform your action plans.

This list is broken into two sections:Innovation Accelerators and Advanced Research Powerhouses

Innovation Accelerators Focused on Startup Engagement

Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)
https://www.diu.mil
DIU is the Department of Defense’s forward-leaning interface with the commercial tech world. It works directly with non-traditional vendors to deliver prototypes and fieldable solutions quickly, using streamlined acquisition processes like Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs). DIU is laser-focused on areas like AI/ML, autonomy, cyber, space, and energy. If your startup has a product in-market or nearly ready for production, DIU can be your gateway to fast pilot projects and real defense deployment, often in under two years. Its team engages directly with companies, translating defense needs into actionable projects.

AFWERX (Air Force & Space Force)
https://www.afwerx.com
AFWERX is a startup-friendly hub that makes it easy to get DoD funding and customer feedback. It runs pitch days, accelerators, and offers SBIR/STTR pathways with fewer bureaucratic hurdles. Through divisions like AFVentures, Prime, and Spark, AFWERX supports projects in predictive maintenance, AI-powered logistics, space systems, cyber defense, and electric flight. If your technology is dual-use and scalable, AFWERX is designed to help you tap into real use cases, de-risk your product, and reach operational Air Force and Space Force users.

NavalX
https://www.navalx.navy.mil
NavalX supports the Navy and Marine Corps by helping innovators navigate military bureaucracy and find the right customer. Its nationwide Tech Bridge network connects regional ecosystems with naval labs and fleet operators. NavalX prioritizes AI/ML, advanced manufacturing, unmanned systems, maintenance automation, and cyber tools. It provides both networking and procurement support, especially through SBIR/STTR. If you’re looking to apply commercial capabilities to mission-relevant naval challenges, NavalX can help you get visibility and traction quickly.

Army Applications Lab (AAL)
https://aal.army
AAL is the Army’s front-facing innovation interface. It operates like a venture partner, publishing problem statements tied to Army operational needs and sourcing solutions from across the commercial ecosystem. AAL supports rapid prototyping, access to military users, and transition planning. Ideal for startups that can help improve logistics, communications, autonomy, human-machine integration, or expeditionary energy. AAL works to reduce the time and risk associated with working with the Army by streamlining early engagements.

SpaceWERX (U.S. Space Force)
https://spacewerx.us
SpaceWERX focuses on leveraging commercial innovation for the rapidly evolving space domain. It provides early-stage funding, testing opportunities, and user engagement for technologies like in-orbit servicing, autonomous navigation, quantum comms, small satellites, and debris mitigation. It emphasizes dual-use and commercially viable space innovations with national security relevance. Startups selected can gain a foothold through SBIR/STTR, and expand via programs like Orbital Prime.

SOFWERX (USSOCOM)
https://sofwerx.org
SOFWERX supports U.S. Special Operations Command by enabling rapid discovery and experimentation of capabilities tailored to elite forces. This includes technologies for contested environments, edge AI, data fusion, human performance, and resilient communications. SOFWERX frequently hosts collaborative events — Tech Sprints, Capability Assessments, and Challenges — that allow startups to demonstrate, iterate, and improve with direct feedback from special operators.

National Security Innovation Network (NSIN)
https://www.nsin.mil
NSIN connects DoD operators, university researchers, and startups to accelerate solution development. Programs include bootcamps, hackathons, challenges, and venture acceleration for dual-use companies. NSIN is best for startups at early stages or those still exploring defense applicability. It provides a friendly entry point to the DoD through idea validation, user discovery, and first pilot opportunities.

Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER)
https://www.cto.mil/rder
RDER is a DoD-wide initiative that enables joint experimentation of high-priority technologies. It invites rapid deployment of prototypes into live exercises across multiple services. Startups with ready-to-demo systems in areas like edge AI, multi-domain communications, resilient logistics, and battlefield sensing can get real-world testing and feedback at unprecedented speed.

Defense Innovation Marketplace (DIM)
https://defenseinnovationmarketplace.dtic.mil
DIM is a central portal for understanding DoD S&T strategy and technology needs. While not a funder itself, it provides detailed roadmaps, program briefs, and solicitation listings. Startups should use DIM to align proposals to current gaps in DoD portfolios and get visibility into the tech areas most likely to be funded or transitioned.

CIA Labs
https://www.cia.gov/cia-labs/
CIA Labs provides a rare avenue for startup collaboration with the intelligence community. Focus areas include sensors, edge computing, advanced analytics, stealth materials, biotech, and secure comms. It enables IP partnerships and co-development with CIA engineers, and can accelerate promising innovations that meet IC mission requirements.

Advanced Research Powerhouses (Deep Tech R&D)

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
https://www.darpa.mil
DARPA is the original model of high-risk, high-reward R&D. It funds transformative technologies that redefine what’s possible. Startups can respond to Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) and pitch revolutionary ideas — in AI, autonomy, synthetic biology, quantum, advanced propulsion, and materials. Ideal for companies solving problems nobody else can, and who want to shape the long-term future of national defense.

Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)
https://www.iarpa.gov
IARPA supports long-horizon R&D projects that enhance intelligence capabilities. Areas of focus include secure computation, high-performance forecasting, biometrics, and neuromorphic computing. Startups with novel tech applicable to data-heavy, analytical intelligence problems may find funding here, even without a commercial product.

Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL)
https://www.arl.army.mil
ARL is the Army’s corporate research lab. It provides collaborative R&D opportunities in fields like quantum navigation, resilient communications, autonomous maneuver, novel materials, and extreme environments. Through its Open Campus and tech transition programs, startups can work shoulder-to-shoulder with Army scientists and tap into shared facilities.

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
https://afresearchlab.com
AFRL supports both foundational science and applied tech for the Air Force and Space Force. AFRL’s Rome Lab is a leader in secure autonomy, cyber, and edge AI. Its Materials and Directed Energy directorates focus on next-gen energy weapons, aircraft coatings, and survivability. AFRL offers SBIRs, CRADAs, and joint development opportunities.

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
https://www.nrl.navy.mil
NRL is the U.S. Navy’s foundational research center. Startups can find aligned efforts in plasma physics, laser comms, stealth materials, quantum sensors, and secure networking. NRL has deep in-house expertise and frequently partners with startups through cooperative research agreements and grants.

Office of Naval Research (ONR)
https://www.nre.navy.mil
ONR oversees science and technology investments for the Navy and USMC. Its broad funding areas include AI/ML, quantum sensing, expeditionary logistics, power and energy, and unmanned systems. Startups should monitor ONR’s BAA portal and engage with topic area managers for alignment.

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
https://www.nro.gov
The NRO builds and operates the nation’s space-based intelligence platforms. It’s investing in edge ML for onboard data processing, miniaturized sensors, and quantum-encrypted comms. Startups developing payloads, low-power compute, optics, or space mission software can find support through NRO’s R&D arm.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
https://www.nga.mil
NGA fuses geospatial, satellite, and human geography data into actionable intelligence. Its AI Factory and Pathfinder initiatives work with startups to automate object detection, change tracking, and predictive geospatial modeling. Ideal for companies in AI/ML, imagery analysis, data fusion, and synthetic datasets.

National Security Agency (NSA) – Research Directorate
https://www.nsa.gov/What-We-Do/Research
NSA leads in advanced computing, cryptography, secure systems, and analytics. Startups working on secure comms, privacy-preserving computation, or quantum-resistant encryption should explore NSA’s open research challenges and cooperative opportunities.

Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
https://www.dtra.mil
DTRA addresses WMD detection, mitigation, and response. It funds R&D into novel detectors, mobile diagnostics, rugged materials, and biological modeling using AI. Startups in synthetic biology, rugged sensors, and data-driven threat response will find DTRA a mission-driven and engaged partner.

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering (OUSD(R&E))
https://www.cto.mil
OUSD(R&E) sets the strategic direction for DoD science and technology. It identifies and coordinates work in critical areas like microelectronics, quantum, AI, space systems, and 5G. Startups can benefit by aligning roadmaps to the priorities published here, and by engaging with its transition accelerators, field test programs, and working groups.

Before deciding which of these organization to engage with, be sure you are ready with a good articulation of your capabilities and have considered the many factors we laid out for you in these report:

• Doing Business With the Federal Government: An Introductory Guide for the Startup CEO
• Understanding the SBIR/STTR Process
• An Enterprise Software Licensing Strategy DOGE Would Love

And for those ready start moving out in your federal growth, consider subscribing to OODA and joining the OODA network. You can join a collective of other CEOs who are succeeding in federal growth.