DSO Pitch Day Solicitation

The mission of DARPA’s Defense Science Office (DSO) is to identify and sponsor scientific discovery to fuel innovation in research and development for defense. DSO develops and executes an aggressive and forward-leaning portfolio that accelerates the development and maturation of scientific advances across a broad set of technical areas to create asymmetric advantage for U.S. National Security. DSO aims to create strategic surprise by pushing technology toward its fundamental scientific limits, thereby expanding the art of the possible. In addition, DSO looks for transformative trends at the global scale and their potential impact on our nation. The goals of the DSO Pitch Day are to:

1. fund proposals for targeted, short-term efforts with the potential to grow into groundbreaking new DARPA programs, and 2. employ an acquisition strategy to encourage participation by new and first-time or non-traditional proposers. This funding opportunity will aim to broaden DARPA’s reach with small businesses, educational institutions, and other non-traditional performers to break down barriers of entry for performers new to DARPA and the national security space.

NOTE: Due date reflected is for Abstract submissions (10/27/2025 at 12:00PM ET noon).