Since 1958, DARPA has made pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security. As the world changes dramatically – and even the pace of change itself increases – the agency seeks to engage the best minds and best ideas across specialties, communities, and disciplines to solve the greatest national security challenges on the horizon.

The agency launched DARPAConnect in 2022 with a goal to broaden DARPA’s reach and stimulate growth and collaboration with small businesses and education institutions new to the national security space. DARPAConnect aims to break down barriers of entry to find the next groundbreaking solutions.

The effort is built on a partnership intermediary agreement with the Applied Research Institute, known as ARI, which is facilitating pop-up events in a few cities around the country along with education opportunities, workshops, coaching, and other outreach efforts.