Army xTech Prize Competitions
Defense & Space · Run by Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) / Army FUZE
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The facts
All fields verified Jul 22, 2026- Terms model
- Non-dilutiveGives money that does not take equity: grants, prizes, or credits. Your ownership is untouched.
- Investment
- Not publishedNon-dilutive prize competition series: Phase 1 white paper, Phase 2 pitch or demonstration events, with cash prizes plus potential follow-on Army contracts (incl. SBIR pathways), mentorship and networking. Prize pools vary per competition. xTech Apex Intercept (low-cost interceptors) offers up to $8,000,000 total: up to 30 Phase 1 finalists at $25,000 each and up to 18 Phase 2 winners sharing $7.25M across four topic areas (per the Apex Intercept competition page, July 2026). Eligibility spans small, medium and large businesses from the US and allied countries.
- Equity taken
- Not publishedNon-dilutive prize competition series: Phase 1 white paper, Phase 2 pitch or demonstration events, with cash prizes plus potential follow-on Army contracts (incl. SBIR pathways), mentorship and networking. Prize pools vary per competition. xTech Apex Intercept (low-cost interceptors) offers up to $8,000,000 total: up to 30 Phase 1 finalists at $25,000 each and up to 18 Phase 2 winners sharing $7.25M across four topic areas (per the Apex Intercept competition page, July 2026). Eligibility spans small, medium and large businesses from the US and allied countries.
- Program length
- Not published
- Format
- Remote
- Location
- Not published
- Cohorts per year
- Not published
- Cohort size
- Not published
- Stage focus
- small, medium and large businesses (U.S. and allied countries)
- Sub-vertical
- Army technology (prize competitions)
- Demographic focus
- Not published
- Backers
- U.S. Army
- Notable alumni
- Not published
Terms notes: Non-dilutive prize competition series: Phase 1 white paper, Phase 2 pitch or demonstration events, with cash prizes plus potential follow-on Army contracts (incl. SBIR pathways), mentorship and networking. Prize pools vary per competition. xTech Apex Intercept (low-cost interceptors) offers up to $8,000,000 total: up to 30 Phase 1 finalists at $25,000 each and up to 18 Phase 2 winners sharing $7.25M across four topic areas (per the Apex Intercept competition page, July 2026). Eligibility spans small, medium and large businesses from the US and allied countries.
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Terms in plain English
xTech is a series of Army prize competitions, not an accelerator: you submit a short white paper, and winning entries earn cash prizes plus a path to follow-on Army contracts, including SBIR awards. Prizes are non-dilutive; the Army takes no equity and the money is a prize or contract, not an investment. Each competition sets its own prize pool and deadline, and the current xTech Apex Intercept competition offers up to $8,000,000 in total cash prizes, with up to 30 Phase 1 finalists receiving $25,000 each. Unlike SBIR proposals, which go through the DSIP portal at dodsbirsttr.mil, xTech entries are submitted through the xTech site, and later phases involve live pitch or demonstration events.
Who this is actually for
Broader than SBIR: small, medium and large businesses based in the US or allied countries can enter, subject to published restrictions such as holding a CAGE or NCAGE code and not being based in or funded by foreign countries of concern. It fits teams that want a low-lift first contact with the Army, since Phase 1 usually requires only a white paper.
Application windows
xTech Apex Intercept Phase 1 white paper submissions: Opens Jul 7, 2026, closes Jul 24, 2026.
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Sources
Everything above was checked against these, verified Jul 22, 2026.