Solicitation
Intrinsic Market Resilience (IMR)
Department of Defense · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
AI summaryAbstract first: abstracts for Technical Areas 1 and 2 (TA1, TA2) are due October 22, 2026 (passed), 2:00 PM Eastern, and only firms invited after that may send proposals; the response due date is December 7, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants prototype tools that use large language models (LLMs: AI text tools) and math to model markets, find design weaknesses and recommend repairs. It plans multiple Other Transaction (OT) prototype agreements over a 32-month program, with one classified testing award (Technical Area 3). More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 1 of 5 attachments weren't read (IMR_Abstract_Summary_Slide_Template_Final.pptx). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Abstract first: abstracts for Technical Areas 1 and 2 (TA1, TA2) are due October 22, 2026 (passed), 2:00 PM Eastern, and only firms invited after that may send proposals; the response due date is December 7, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants prototype tools that use large language models (LLMs: AI text tools) and math to model markets, find design weaknesses and recommend repairs. It plans multiple Other Transaction (OT) prototype agreements over a 32-month program, with one classified testing award (Technical Area 3).
Who can bid (9)
- Be invited to propose: only firms that receive an Invitation to Proceed after their abstract may send a full proposal
- Meet at least one OT condition: a nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution participating significantly, all significant participants small or nontraditional or nonprofit, one-third of cost from non-Federal sources, or a senior procurement executive exception
- For TA3: be a U.S. organization able to receive, process and store classified information at the TOP SECRET//SCI//SAR level, and have requested the classified addendum
Show all 9Show fewer
- For TA1 and TA2 proposing a CUI solution: show you can safeguard CUI under 2 CFR Part 2002, DoDI 5200.48 and 32 CFR Part 170
- Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 1 at award, Level 2 if handling CUI; show your CMMC status in the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) or include a CMMC Compliance Plan
- Have a Unique Entity ID and a System for Award Management (SAM) registration for Full Awards
- Register in Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF), the Government invoicing system, to receive an award
- Be found responsible by the Agreements Officer and not be suspended or debarred
- TA3 team members must be organizationally distinct from TA1 and TA2 team members (no shared parent company)
How to submit: DARPA Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT) for unclassified TA1, TA2 and TA1/TA2 abstracts and proposals; classified TA3 submissions follow the classified addendum and do not go through BAAT. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
From the version posted Oct 16, 2026.
- Serious: Abstract required first; proposals by invitation only. The abstract is due October 22, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern for TA1, TA2 and TA1/TA2, well before SAM.gov's December 7, 2026 response due date; a business that skips it can't send a proposal.
- Serious: TA3 needs top secret facilities and a classified addendum. TA3 work is expected at TOP SECRET//SCI//SAR (top secret with compartmented-information and special-access controls); firms that did not request the classified addendum won't be considered.
- Serious: Cybersecurity certification (CMMC) tied to award. Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI: sensitive but unclassified data) work needs CMMC Level 2 self-assessment status, or a compliance plan with a binding milestone; failing it can end the agreement.
Show all 8Show fewer
- Worth checking: OT award conditions and possible cost share. An OT can be awarded only if one of four conditions is met; a traditional contractor without a nontraditional partner may have to cover part of the cost.
- Worth checking: TA3 and TA1/TA2 teams can't overlap. If a TA3 and a non-TA3 proposal share a prime or subcontractor that isn't organizationally distinct, at most one of them will be selected.
- Worth checking: Government expects unlimited data rights. Deliverables built with DARPA or mixed funding are expected to carry Unlimited Rights; limited rights only for items made wholly at private expense.
- Minor: AI use must be disclosed in the abstract. A table of AI tools used and the human safeguards is part of the required abstract template.
- Minor: Associate Performer Agreement required. Awardees must sign an agreement to share information with all other program performers.
Read from the notice and 4 attachments. 1 of 5 not read. Show which files.
- DARPA-PS-26-138-Amendment-01.pdf (read)
- DARPA-PS-26-138.pdf (read)
- IMR_Abstract_Template_Amended.docx (read)
- IMR_CUIG_SEP_2026_v1.0.pdf (read)
- IMR_Abstract_Summary_Slide_Template_Final.pptx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Technical Area 1 (TA1), Modeling and Analysis: build machine-analyzable models of real markets, write resilience conjectures (math statements about good market behavior) and test them automatically
- Technical Area 2 (TA2), Resiliency and Repair: improve the conjectures and recommend market repairs that do no harm to normal market operation
- Technical Area 3 (TA3), Test and Evaluation (one award, classified at TOP SECRET): set validation standards, seed known flaws into models and measure TA1 and TA2 results
- Deliver software and user instructions so the Government can replay the analysis, plus technical papers and presentations
- Send monthly reports within 15 calendar days after each month ends, and a final report for each program phase
- Program phases: Phase 1 base of 12 months on proposer-selected markets, Phase 2 option of 8 months on DARPA-selected markets, Phase 3 option of 12 months on partner-informed markets
- Attend a kickoff in month 1 and in-person meetings in months 5, 11, 18, 24 and 31; budget the kickoff in Washington, D.C. and later ones in San Diego, California or Washington, D.C.
- TA3 only: a Science and Technology Protection Implementation Plan for DARPA approval no later than 60 days after award
- Contract type
- Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype Agreement under 10 U.S.C. 4022; a flexible agreement outside the usual contract rules, with possible resource sharing (cost share)
- Period of performance
- 32-month program: Phase 1 base of 12 months, Phase 2 option of 8 months, Phase 3 option of 12 months
- Estimated value
- Anticipated award amounts (Government's expectation): each TA1 award $4.5M-$5.0M, each TA2 award $2.5M-$3.0M, the single TA3 award $5M-$6.5M
- How they'll choose
- Reviewed by the Program Manager and a panel of Government subject matter experts against five criteria listed in descending order of importance; an abstract stage comes first.
- Offers due
- December 7, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- DARPA Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT) for unclassified TA1, TA2 and TA1/TA2 abstracts and proposals; classified TA3 submissions follow the classified addendum and do not go through BAAT
- Page limits
- Abstract: 5 pages maximum, not counting the cover sheet, table of contents, one-slide summary, AI disclosure, bibliography and technical papers. Proposal limits come in the Invitation to Proceed.
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Approach: innovative, feasible and aligned with program metrics; sound methods; major risks and mitigations identified
- Technical Qualifications: the team (prime and subcontractors) has the expertise, experience and commitment
- Technology Transition and Intellectual Property: a realistic path to transition, and data-rights assertions that don't restrict Government transition
- Price: consistent with the approach, schedule and milestones, and sufficiently detailed; resource sharing is a positive factor
- Security: CUI requirements met; for TA3, a complete security plan, facility clearances and cleared staff
- Abstract stage (before proposals): Technical Comprehension, then Technical Ability
What to include when you submit
- Step 1: send an abstract on the IMR Abstract Template, naming the technical area (TA1, TA2, TA1 and TA2, or TA3), by October 22, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern for TA1, TA2 and TA1/TA2
- Abstract format: PDF or Microsoft Word, 12-point type, 8.5 x 11 inch pages, 1-inch margins, plus the one-slide Abstract Summary
- Abstract sections: Goals and Impact; Technical Approach; Capabilities/Management Plan; Rough Order of Magnitude price estimate that fits the Informed Budget; Disclosure of AI Utilization
- Mark proprietary information on the cover page and each page as Proprietary or Company Proprietary, not Confidential
- Mark any CUI conspicuously as CUI; abstracts with unprotected CUI will not be reviewed
- TA3: email IMR@darpa.mil with the subject line "DARPA-PS-26-138 Notice of Intent to Submit a Classified Abstract" (and later one for the proposal) giving the means of transmission and classification level
- Step 2, if invited: follow the Invitation to Proceed's templates and deadlines for the full proposal
- Proposal: include the Common Form Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for all key personnel
- Proposal: price proposal evidence if claiming nontraditional defense contractor, nonprofit or small business status, or asking for an OT without one-third cost share
- Proposal: state intellectual property assertions, disclose any organizational conflict of interest with a mitigation plan, and show CMMC status or a CMMC Compliance Plan
After award, you must have
- TA3 only: Science and Technology Protection Implementation Plan to DARPA no later than 60 days after award From DARPA-PS-26-138-Amendment-01.pdf:
Implementation Plan (S&T PIP) will be submitted for DARPA approval no later than 60 days…
Not in the notice text
- Sections 4.1 Eligibility, 4.2 Abstracts and 4.3 Proposals of the solicitation, and the start of the intellectual property section, weren't read; the Abstract Summary Slide Template (.pptx) is attached but not read. Check both on SAM.gov.
- Full proposal content, format and page limits come only in the Invitation to Proceed
- Place of performance is not stated in the SAM.gov fields or the text read
- TA3 due dates and the classified addendum release date are listed as TBD
- How many TA1 and TA2 awards are planned; the text says multiple, with a single TA3 award
- Whether a resource-sharing (cost share) amount applies to a given proposer
- The SAM.gov description text is cut off mid-sentence; the attached solicitation holds the full program description
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: DARPA Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT) for unclassified TA1, TA2 and TA1/TA2 abstracts and proposals; classified TA3 submissions follow the classified addendum and do not go through BAAT. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 16, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Def Advanced Research Projects Agcy, Arlington, VA
- Product/service code
- AC12 · National Defense R&D Services; Department of Defense – Military; Applied Research
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541715)
- Versions
3 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 16, 2026 · Amendment 0002 (this version)Due Dec 7, 2026
- Oct 6, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Dec 7, 2026
- Sep 25, 2026 · SolicitationDue Dec 7, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The evolution of markets from physical trading floors to interconnected, electronic venues has introduced new speed, transparency, and efficiency, but has also created new attack surfaces and systemic risks. Modern markets, which host trading for everything from equities and bonds to energy and cloud computing resources, can be manipulated in ways unanticipated by their designers. The 2010 United States Equity market "flash crash" and the 2000-2001 California energy crisis demonstrated how weaknesses in a market's public interfaces could have dramatic consequences. Similar design issues in today's complex, interacting market systems could be used to cause economic damage, which the IMR program technology seeks to prevent. The IMR program aims to develop repair methods to protect essential economic sectors against devastating attacks that exploit the public interfaces of modern markets. Current legal and regulatory protections focus on deterring profit-seeking manipulation and ensuring compliance, but they do not sufficiently protect markets from adversaries aiming simply to cause disruption. The IMR program seeks to address this gap by developing the tools to automatically model market designs, identify hidden weaknesses, and recommend and analyze repairs on the market models to make markets fundamentally more resilient to attack. IMR aims to combine Large Language Model (LLM)-based automation with rigorous modeling and analysis to identify remediations for market weaknesses. The program will develop formal notations to precisely describe how markets operate and coordinate, creating machine-analyzable models from informal descriptions like regulatory filings and technical specifications. Against these models, IMR will formulate and assess "resilience conjectures” - mathematical statements about desirable market properties, such as the inability for actors to manipulate prices without risking loss. By automatically analyzing these conjectures, the program ai
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