Software and services company Collaboration.Ai today announced the extension of its existing relationship with the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF). As part of a new five-year basic ordering agreement (BOA), Collaboration.Ai will provide ecosystem development, event facilitation, crowdsourcing and idea management, and project management for the AFWERX Challenge program, which taps top subject matter experts in the U.S. and allied countries to accelerate Air Force and Space Force innovation.
“We’re proud of the role we’ve played over the last few years in helping the DAF tackle complex problems through crowdsourced innovation,” said Brennan Townley, Collaboration.Ai CEO. “We look forward to further growing the AFWERX community and surfacing smart solutions that will enable our country’s dedicated Airmen and Guardians to thrive and maintain dominance.”
The company’s first project under the new charter—the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) Challenge—will launch in November 2022. It aims to equip the DAF with a more agile and resilient suite of common aerospace maintenance and support equipment on the flightline of the future. Collaboration.Ai will engage military, industry, and academic talent to uncover fresh thinking and elevate leading-edge technologies.
Previously, Collaboration.Ai has been awarded multiple Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III IDIQ contracts from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command. Since 2019, the company has supported more than 20 AFWERX Challenges addressing a wide range of subjects, including high-speed vertical take-off and landing capabilities, recruitment and well-being, renewable and resilient energy management, and integrated space operations. To date, these efforts have resulted in over 40 prototyping and market research subcontracts.
ABOUT COLLABORATION.AI
Collaboration.Ai is a Minneapolis-Saint Paul based software and services company with employees and strategic partners around the globe. Our mission is to help organizations rapidly and reliably optimize networks and advance innovation. Using design thinking and artificial intelligence, we open up opportunities for clients in public, private, and nonprofit sectors to forge valuable connections, create meaningful engagement, and develop groundbreaking ideas. To learn more about us, visit collaboration.ai.
ABOUT AFWERX
AFWERX was established in 2017 to solve some of the toughest challenges the Air Force faces through innovation and collaboration among our top subject matter experts in the U.S. and allied countries. AFWERX and the Department of the Air Force are committed to exploring viable solutions and partnerships to further strengthen the Department, which could lead to additional prototyping, research and development, and follow-on production contracts. To learn more, visit afwerx.af.mil.
