IARPA launches new acquisition marketplace

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity announced on Friday that it has launched a new platform to help rapidly onboard innovative capabilities from the private sector.

The IARPA Solutions Marketplace is designed to streamline the procurement process by providing vendors with a pathway to showcase their solutions through short video pitches and then receive feedback from relevant agencies.

IARPA, which serves as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s research and development unit, also posted a solution notice on SAM.gov. Interested companies can submit their videos through the platform beginning on August 1. 

In a statement shared on LinkedIn on Friday, IARPA acting Deputy Director Jack Cooper said “to effectively harness private sector innovation and align it to the Intelligence Community’s needs, we had to create a new, streamlined pathway for industry partners.”

The marketplace is managed by the Applied Research Institute, which said in a press release that “government customers can browse ready-to-award solutions and move toward contract without restarting an acquisition from scratch.” 

This is the first time ARI has worked to make its rapid acquisition model available to the intelligence community, although the nonprofit organization has successfully worked over the past few years to launch similar marketplaces with other federal partners. 

In an interview with Nextgov/FCW, ARI Senior Vice President of Federal Programs Jason Preisser noted that the organization has launched acquisition platforms for the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, the Air Force, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Army Applications Laboratory. 

CDAO’s Tradewinds marketplace was the first platform to launch in November 2022, and since then the approach has enabled smaller providers to pitch their service to agencies without first needing to register on SAM.gov to submit a solution.

“Since the inception of Tradewinds, we've seen probably over 500 new entrants decide to submit solutions because of this new simplified model,” Preisser said. “So it's a very open front door.”

He also noted that the overall rapid acquisition model aligns with a November 2025 memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that calls, in part, for expanding the Defense Industrial Base and making it easier and faster for vendors to receive contracts for innovative products.

Going forward, Preisser said his goal “is to interconnect these marketplaces, so you really do have a one-stop shop,” with the hope of being able to “start to expand out into other civil agencies.”