Atolio, Inc. announces it has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Direct-to-Phase II contract in the amount of $1.25M focused on AI enterprise search to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and now on August 25, 2025, Atolio will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

Quote From Atolio CEO, David Lanstein

“The Air Force operates with unprecedented volumes of data distributed across hundreds of systems and repositories. Rapid access to relevant, accurate information is essential for mission. Atolio's secure, AI-powered enterprise search engine will help USAF personnel cut through information overload—delivering the right data to the right people in seconds, not days. In high-stakes operational environments, that speed advantage can be decisive.”

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of War, or the U.S. government.

About Atolio, Inc.

Atolio is the way enterprises safely and securely deploy enterprise search across siloes of information. Founded in 2019, the mission of Atolio is to unlock all of the value that’s trapped in companies’ knowledge to help them run better businesses. To learn more, visit atolio.com.

About AFRL

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace forces. With a workforce spanning across nine technology areas and 40 other operations around the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.

About AFWERX

As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. Headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, AFWERX employs military, civilian and contractor personnel executing an annual $1.4 billion annual budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has awarded over 10,400 contracts worth more than $7.24 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: afwerx.com.

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