Solicitation
MXO Office-wide Innovative Solutions Opening
Dept of Defense · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) · Sol. DARPA-PS-26-115
Due in 237 days
Track this notice by email. We'll email you if it's amended or awarded, and a week and two days before responses are due.
AI summary Beta
DARPA's Multi X Office (MXO) is running a long-running open call for high-risk, high-reward research ideas in physical sciences and microsystems that are not covered by its other programs. You first send a short abstract, and only if DARPA invites you can you send a full proposal. Awards are expected to be Other Transaction Agreements or Experimental Transaction Agreements, not standard FAR contracts. Abstracts are due by April 23, 2027 and the opportunity closes June 4, 2027.
Watch out for
- Abstract deadline is earlier than the SAM.gov date. SAM.gov shows June 4, 2027, but abstracts are due April 23, 2027, and you cannot propose without an invited abstract.
Abstracts may be submitted on a rolling basis until 4:00 p.m.
- Two-step process with an invitation gate. Even a good proposal will not be read unless DARPA first invites you after reviewing your abstract, and abstract decisions take up to about 30 days.
Only proposers that submit an abstract and receive an invitation from the Government will be
- Cutting-edge research, not a standard service contract. DARPA wants high-risk breakthrough ideas in materials, devices and tools at about TRL 2 to 5; this fits R&D-heavy companies and research teams, not routine contractors.
MXO seeks to develop high-risk, high-reward technologies and proposed research should
- CMMC status must be in SPRS. To be eligible for an award your CMMC status (Final or Conditional) and a current annual affirmation must be posted in the Supplier Performance Risk System, which takes preparation for a small company.
with the prime proposer must reflect a current CMMC status (representing either Final or
- Awards are OTs/ETAs with different terms than FAR contracts. Other Transaction agreements use their own terms, and cost sharing may be required if you are a traditional defense contractor without a nontraditional partner.
The OT agreement will not require cost sharing unless the offeror is a traditional defense contractor
- Strict AI-use and duplicate-submission rules. Submissions showing AI misuse, or that are near-identical to earlier ones, may be rejected without review.
evidence of the above utilization of AI may be deemed non-conforming, in which case they will
- Portal and file rules can sink a submission. Submissions must go through BAAT as one zip file under 100 MB, and non-zip uploads are rejected.
files (.zip or .zipx extension). The final zip file shall be no greater than 100 MB in
- Fundamental research security review. If your work is fundamental research, you must file biographical sketch and current and pending support forms for key people, and DARPA runs a foreign-influence risk review before award.
Read from the notice and 5 attachments.
- DARPA-PS-26-115_MXO_Office-Wide_QA_v2_09.23.2026.pdf
- DARPA-PS-26-115-Amendment-01.pdf
- DARPA-PS-26-115.pdf
- Attachment_B_Abstract_Instructions_and_Template.docx
- Attachment_A_DARPA_BAAT_Submission_Portal_Guide.docx
Full brief
What they want
- Revolutionary research ideas, not small improvements to what already exists
- Thrust 1: new materials and components beyond today's CMOS chip foundation
- Thrust 2: tools, processes and domestic supply chains for U.S. technology development
- Thrust 3: new ways to sense, orient, compute and communicate (new physics, hybrid electronic and non-electronic approaches)
- Short exploratory projects such as analytical studies or proof-of-concept experiments get priority at the abstract stage
- Concepts at roughly technology readiness level (TRL) 2 to 5
- Contract type
- Other Transaction Agreements (Research OT or Prototype OT) and Experimental Transaction Agreements (ETAs); multiple awards anticipated
- Contract vehicle
- DARPA Innovative Solutions Opening (DARPA-PS-26-115), a long-term open call under 10 U.S.C. 4021, 4022 and 4023
- How they'll choose
- Two steps. Abstracts are scored on technical concept and on potential to achieve the goals. Invited full proposals are scored on three criteria, listed in descending order of importance.
- Offers due
- Abstracts: rolling until 4:00 p.m. Eastern on April 23, 2027. Proposals (by invitation only): until 4:00 p.m. Eastern on the closing date, June 4, 2027.
- How to submit
- DARPA's Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT) at https://baa.darpa.mil, uploaded as a single .zip file. Questions go to DARPA-PS-26-115@darpa.mil.
- Page limits
- Abstract: no more than 6 pages (12-point font, 1-inch margins). The cover sheet, table of contents, rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost (about half a page) and bibliography (up to 2 pages) do not count.
What they'll judge offers on
- Abstract: Technical concept and understanding
- Abstract: Potential to achieve proposed goals (including whether the rough order of magnitude cost fits the risk)
- Proposal 1: Overall scientific and technical merit
- Proposal 2: Potential contribution and relevance to DARPA mission (including plans to transition the technology)
- Proposal 3: Budget and price (realistic and supported by details)
What to include when you submit
- Use the mandatory Attachment B abstract template (PDF or Word). Sections: innovative claims, technical approach, deliverables, other research, capabilities/management plan, ROM cost, bibliography
- Put a truthful statement on the title page that nobody on your team also works for DARPA as a SETA, A&AS or similar support contractor
- Enter your CAGE code on the cover sheet, or the date you applied and when you expect it
- The final zip file must be no larger than 100 MB, only one zip per submission, and password-protected files cannot be uploaded
- Create a BAAT account early; the account setup email can take about 70 minutes to arrive
- Mark proprietary pages clearly with a label such as Proprietary (do not use Confidential)
- Classified abstracts must not go through BAAT; email the MXO mailbox first for instructions
- In an invited proposal, answer on the Volume 1 cover sheet whether AI tools were used and cite AI-generated content
- Invited proposals use extra attachments (Volume I technical, Volume II price, price spreadsheet, OT certification, task description document, milestones and payments) that are sent only with the invitation
You must have
- Must submit an abstract and receive an invitation before submitting a full proposal
Only proposers that submit an abstract and receive an invitation from the Government will be
- Open to all responsible U.S. and non-U.S. sources; no small business or other set-aside
no portion of this announcement will be set aside for these organizations’ participation due to the
- CMMC Level 1 self-assessment at minimum (Level 2 self-assessment if the work involves Controlled Unclassified Information); status and annual affirmation must be posted in SPRS to be eligible for award
The minimum required CMMC level for this solicitation is:
- A valid CAGE code is needed to submit through BAAT
A valid Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code is required in order to submit via the BAAT.
- Team members cannot also be DARPA SETA or advisory support contractors; this extends to UARCs and FFRDCs including National Labs
performers under this solicitation from concurrently providing Systems Engineering Technical
- FFRDCs, UARCs and Government Entities (including National Laboratories) can take part only under special conditions and cannot be funded through the prime; they must contact DARPA before the abstract due date
- Research with human or animal subjects is out of scope
efforts that include human or animal subjects research are out of scope for this
Not in the notice text
- Total funding available and typical award size
- Length of awards (period of performance)
- Full proposal templates and page limits (sent only with an invitation)
- Exact date for the Notification of Intent to Propose referred to in the eForm 60 requirement
- Any new thrust areas DARPA may add by later amendment
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Key facts
- Response due
- Jun 4, 2027, 8:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Sep 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Solicitation
- DARPA-PS-26-115
- Agency
- Dept of Defense · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- Office
- Def Advanced Research Projects Agcy
- NAICS
- 541715
- Product/service code
- AC12
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research
- Contracting contact
- PS CoordinatorDARPA-PS-26-115@darpa.mil
- Versions
- 4 (amended since first posted)
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) anticipates funding multiple proposals on a rolling basis under this solicitation. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. The Multi X Office (MXO) at DARPA regularly publishes solicitations requesting responses to specific program topics. This announcement seeks revolutionary research ideas for topics not addressed by ongoing MXO programs or other published DARPA solicitations.
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