Army xTech prize competitions, explained

xTech is the U.S. Army's program of prize competitions that pays cash to small businesses and other nontraditional vendors for technology the Army can use. A September 2025 Army story on xTechSearch 9 says the competition is led by the Office of Army Innovation Programs under the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)). The story adds that since its 2018 launch, xTech has awarded over $30 million in non-dilutive cash prizes across 44 competitions. In the xTechSearch series, a company pitches its own technology, either a new application of an existing one or an entirely new concept, and can move from a short paper to a pitch to a prize.

Two prize statutes

The Department of Defense (DoD) has its own prize authority, 10 U.S.C. 4025. In the 2024 edition, subsection (a) lets the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)), the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, and each service acquisition executive, award cash and other prizes, "including procurement contracts and other agreements." The process must be competitive and widely advertised, and its use counts as competitive procedures under chapter 221 of title 10. Three limits in subsection (c) need USD(R&E) approval: a prize with fair market value over $10,000,000, more than $1,000,000 in cash prizes from one competition, and a solely nonmonetary prize worth more than $10,000.

The governmentwide authority is 15 U.S.C. 3719, which lets any agency head run prize competitions. Each needs a public notice, such as on challenge.gov, giving the subject, eligibility rules, registration process, prize amount, and basis for choosing winners. A private entity must be incorporated in, and keep its primary place of business in, the United States.

Two xTechSearch notices cite the second statute. The June 2018 Federal Register notice for the first round says prizes will be offered under 15 U.S.C. 3719, and the February 2020 notice for xTechSearch 5 on SAM.gov, the System for Award Management, names the same section as the program's authority.

How a round runs

The 2018 notice set out four phases:

1. Concept white paper. One paper per business, no more than 1,000 words. Scoring weighed potential impact at 50 percent, scientific and engineering viability at 30 percent, and team experience at 20 percent. Semifinalists were to receive $1,000.
2. Technology pitch. Up to 125 semifinalists were to pitch in person to Army and DoD judges at one of five locations. Up to 25 finalists were to receive $5,000.
3. Exhibit. Finalists were to present at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting, October 8-10, 2018. Up to 12 winners were to receive $125,000 and 6 months to demonstrate proof of concept.
4. Finale demonstration. Set for April 2019, with $200,000 for the winner.

The notice put the total prize pool at $1.95 million. Entrants had to be small businesses under 13 CFR part 121, within the size standard for North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes 541713, 541714, or 541715.

Rounds as the Army reported them

Round	Army source	What the source reports
xTechSearch 1	Army Research Laboratory story, April 3, 2019	More than 350 white papers; 12 companies pitched at the AUSA Global Force Symposium, March 26-27, 2019; the winner, Adranos, Inc., was announced March 28, ahead of the April 2019 finale the notice planned
xTechSearch 5	SAM.gov notice, February 24, 2020	Ten finalists to receive $120,000 each; a grand prize winner to receive another $250,000; final demonstrations set for March 2021 in Huntsville, Alabama
xTechSearch 7	Army story, July 6, 2023	775 initial proposals; 50 semifinalists at $5,000; 20 finalists at another $15,000; 10 winners at another $25,000, for $45,000 each
xTechSearch 9	Army story, September 5, 2025	60 finalists at $5,000 plus an accelerator; 24 winners planned at another $25,000; submissions up 21 percent from the previous round

From prize to SBIR proposal

The Army ties recent rounds to Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals. The July 2023 story says xTechSearch 7 competitors could pursue a Phase I SBIR award of up to $250,000 each. The September 2025 story says xTechSearch 9 winners may submit an Army SBIR Phase I proposal under solicitation A254-P039, and that finalists enter an accelerator with virtual workshops, one-on-one coaching, and stakeholder matchmaking. The same story reports that 87 percent of applicants were new to the competition and over 52 percent had never worked with DoD.

Two statutory points bear on follow-on work. Section 4025(a) lets a DoD prize itself include a procurement contract or other agreement. Under section 3719(j), the Government may not gain an interest in intellectual property a participant develops without the participant's written consent.

What to check

• Which statute does the notice cite: 15 U.S.C. 3719, as the 2018 and 2020 xTechSearch notices do, or 10 U.S.C. 4025?
• Under section 4025, does more than $1,000,000 in cash prizes carry USD(R&E) approval?
• Is the follow-on a separate SBIR Phase I proposal, as in xTechSearch 7 and 9, or a contract or agreement awarded as the prize?
• Do the eligibility rules match the round: size standard, U.S. incorporation and place of business, one submission per business?
• Is a quoted prize amount tied to the right round? The 2018 notice offered semifinalists $1,000, and the 2023 round paid them $5,000.

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Sources

1. 1United States Code, 2024 Edition, Title 10, Section 4025 - Prizes for advanced technology achievements · U.S. Government Publishing Office
2. 2United States Code, 2024 Edition, Title 15, Section 3719 - Prize competitions · U.S. Government Publishing Office
3. 3Army Expeditionary Technology Search (xTechSearch) Prize Competition (announcement of competition) · Department of the Army, Federal Register, 83 FR 29764 (June 26, 2018)
4. 4EXPEDITIONARY TECHNOLOGY SEARCH (XTECHSEARCH) 5 · SAM.gov contract opportunity record, posted February 24, 2020
5. 5Army awards top prize for inaugural technology competition · CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs, army.mil (April 3, 2019)
6. 6Ten businesses win $450K in xTechSearch 7 finals following record-breaking participation · Office of Army Prize Competitions and Army Applied SBIR Program, army.mil (July 6, 2023)
7. 7xTechSearch 9 advances finalists powering defense and commercial impact · Office of Army Innovation Programs, army.mil (September 5, 2025)

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