Black Cape Wins Spot in JAIC’s DRAID Basic Ordering Agreement

Arlington-headquartered software developer Black Cape announced that it has been awarded a spot on the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center‘s Data Readiness for Artificial Intelligence Development basic ordering agreement. The award, which is potentially worth $241.6 million, opens up the possibility of taking part in a range of tasks to advance the use of AI in the Department of Defense, Black Cape said Tuesday.

In a statement, the company said the multi-award BOA calls for a range of tasks needed to create, acquire, curate, prepare and manage data for use in the Pentagon’s AI and machine learning models and application development. Black Cape is well-suited for this effort because it maintains extensive experience in the national security and defense space, according to its chief executive officer.

Al Di Leonardo, co-founder and CEO of Black Cape, said his company is honored to have been selected to bring AI-enabled tools and applications to the JAIC.

Black Cape said its AI and ML technologies are already in use across the federal government, the Intelligence Community and the DOD. The company cited its flagship product, Rubicon, which is being used within Special Operations Command and the Air Force to manage all domain command and control.

In April 2021, the JAIC issued a request for proposals for the $241 million contract aimed at preparing the DOD for artificial intelligence development. Jane Pinelis, testing and evaluation chief at JAIC, explained that the DRAID BOA was designed to connect DOD organizations with industry partners, hastening the adoption of AI. She explained that data readiness is one of the biggest challenges that impede the deployment of AI across the Pentagon.

The DRAID services contract will be executed over the course of five years.