2025-12-01 - Genesis RFI.docx

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE)

NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (NNSA)

TRANSFORMATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

CAPABILITIES FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY for the purpose of conducting market research. This RFI does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation. Responses are voluntary, at no cost to the Government, and will be used to inform strategic planning, program design, and future funding mechanisms for the long-term Genesis program. The NNSA is not seeking proposals currently; rather, information to facilitate understanding of market capabilities.

PROJECT TITLE: Transformational AI Capabilities for National Security

CONTRACTING OFFICE:

DOE/NNSA

Office of Partnership & Acquisition Services Construction Acquisition Branch, NA-PAS-312 PO Box 5400 Albuquerque NM 87185-5400

REQUIREMENT OFFICE:

DOE/NNSA

Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E), NA-11 1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20585

PROGRAM OFFICE:

DOE/NNSA

Office of Partnership & Acquisition Services Special Staff (NA-PAS-1.2) 1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20585

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

DOE/NNSA

Management and Operation Facilities

ISSUE DATE: Monday, December 1, 2025 RESPONSE DUE: Friday, January 23, 2026 12:00 PM Mountain Standard Time (MST)

INTRODUCTION: President Trump set forth an Executive Order titled Launching the Genesis Mission, (Genesis Mission EO) on November 24, 2025. The Genesis Mission will build an integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform to harness federal scientific datasets to train scientific foundation models and create AI agents to test new hypotheses, automate research workflows, and accelerate scientific breakthroughs. The Genesis Mission’s executive order further states the Secretary of Energy shall be responsible for implementing the initiative within the Department of Energy (DOE). In furtherance of the Genesis Mission in NNSA’s unique mission space, NNSA seeks to integrate cutting-edge AI capabilities into NNSA's critical operations to accelerate nuclear weapons development timelines, ensuring our deterrent remains responsive, effective, and state-of-the-art against evolving global threats. In addition, NNSA also plans to integrate AI into its nuclear nonproliferation missions, ensuring robust monitoring of threats across the globe. This RFI specifically seeks input to inform the strategic planning and design of the long-term Genesis program.

NNSA intends to establish broad, long-term collaborations to support the Genesis program. This RFI is specifically targeted at understanding the capabilities available in the market and identifying innovative approaches to support the NNSA's long-term objectives for this critical national security initiative.

INTERESTED RESPONDENTS: The NNSA seeks input from:

Institutions, including businesses of all sizes, developing leading-edge AI models who can collaborate to leverage the NNSA's data, facilities, and/or expertise for nuclear security applications.

Institutions, including businesses of all sizes, interested in partnering with the NNSA and the national laboratories, manufacturing plants, and national security sites, potentially in combination with AI developers, to develop AI models with enhanced capabilities for nuclear deterrence.

Providers of secure, accredited cloud environments and AI development platforms capable of handling highly sensitive and classified information.

Think tanks, investors, and research organizations.

Universities.

And other interested entities.

QUESTIONS: Responses should address the questions below.

A. Capabilities for Classified AI Development and Deployment:

1. What advanced AI models (e.g., large language models, vision language models, expert systems) are you developing or can you provide that are suitable for application in highly secure and classified environments, specifically for complex physics or engineering domains?

Describe your existing or planned capabilities for AI model fine-tuning, training, and deployment in classified environments or with similar highly sensitive information. What classification accreditations do you hold (e.g., SECRET/RD, ICD 503, NISPOM) or plan to pursue that are relevant to the NNSA's mission?

How can your cloud platform and associated AI-enabled software stack support the rapid development, evaluation, and deployment of agentic AI systems for automating complex workflows within a secure environment?

What innovative approaches do you propose for integrating AI models or technologies with existing on-premises classified High-Performance Computing (HPC), data environments, or edge devices located at the NNSA national laboratories, plants, and sites? How would such approaches change existing resources that the NNSA currently has deployed?

B. Data Curation and Management for AI Training:

How should the NNSA best approach the curation, structuring, cleaning, and preprocessing of its scientific and engineering data, including classified or compartmentalized data, to make it suitable for advanced AI model training at a larger scale?

What methods or technologies do you offer or recommend for anonymizing, desensitizing, or otherwise applying privacy-preserving AI training methods to enable the use of sensitive or proprietary NNSA data without compromising security or mission integrity?

What are your capabilities for building and maintaining Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR), AI-ready data repositories within a classified context?

What capabilities can you provide which ensure strong need-to-know controls for multiple users who work with large and complex data sets?

C. AI Model Development and Enhancement:

How can the NNSA best structure partnerships with industry and academia to develop self-improving AI models for advanced physics and engineering, potentially combining the NNSA's data with those from other partners?

What strategies do you propose for combining general-purpose AI models (e.g., focusing on language and reasoning) with AI models specifically trained on the NNSA's scientific and engineering data (e.g., via tool-calling, APIs, joint training, or fine-tuning)?

What areas within high consequence design/engineering, deterrence, and nonproliferation are priority candidates for the development of these transformational, self-improving AI models? What classes and modalities of data would be needed to address these priorities, and to what extent can existing data be leveraged versus requiring new data generation?

What are the best use cases for self-improving AI models, and how can their improved capabilities be rigorously evaluated or validated within a classified NNSA context?

D. Partnership Models and Operational Considerations:

How can the NNSA best structure and incentivize partnerships and codesign between the NNSA national laboratories, plants, and sites, and other partners, including through public-private consortia, to support the long-term Genesis Mission?

What governance models do you recommend for shared data, AI models, and computing infrastructure to ensure compliance with applicable legal, regulatory, and privacy standards consistent with the NNSA and Federal security mandates?

What lessons learned from existing AI consortia or other public-private partnerships can the NNSA incorporate into any potential consortium effort?

What models for intellectual property rights (e.g., invention and data) would best promote AI dominance for agile deterrence and enable innovation, considering the unique requirements of NNSA and its national security mission? How can potential barriers in standard DOE data and patent rights be addressed to facilitate collaboration?

How can the NNSA best protect U.S. research and technology security interests and U.S. manufacturing and competitive interests, including requirements for deployment in the U.S. and sharing with U.S. allies and partners? (Refer to Appendix I for the NNSA's Research, Technology and Economic Security (RTES) Requirements).

E. Cost, Pricing, and Budget:

Cost Drivers: What are the key cost drivers associated with your solutions? For instance, is the cost primarily driven by user count, data volume, transaction processing, customization requirements, ongoing maintenance and support or licensing fees for proprietary or patented technologies (e.g., AI algorithms, specialized hardware)?

Pricing Models: Describe your typical pricing model(s) for solutions of this nature. Please specify if it is a perpetual license, subscription-based, usage-based, or a hybrid model, and outline the key components of each model that contribute to the final cost.

Budget Planning: To assist with our internal budget planning, please provide an indicative total cost range for the complete solution, encompassing all hardware, software, licenses, implementation services, and first-year support costs. This information will be used for internal budgeting purposes only and does not constitute a commitment from either our or your organizations.

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information that he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via email two well-marked copies: one copy of the document marked “confidential” including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked “non-confidential” with the information believed to be confidential deleted. Failure to comply with these marking requirements may result in the disclosure of the unmarked information under the Freedom of Information Act or otherwise. The U.S. Government is not liable for the disclosure or use of unmarked information and may use or disclose such information for any purpose. If your response contains confidential, proprietary, or privileged information, you must include a cover sheet marked as follows identifying the specific pages containing confidential, proprietary, or privileged information:

Notice of Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data Pages [LIST APPLICABLE PAGES] of this response may contain confidential, proprietary, or privileged information that is exempt from public disclosure. Such information shall be used or disclosed by the Government and its contractors (including the NNSA’s contractor operated laboratories) only for the purposes described in RFI [INSERT RFI TITLE]. The Government may use or disclose any information that is not appropriately marked or otherwise restricted, regardless of source.

In addition, (1) the header and footer of every page that contains confidential, proprietary, or privileged information must be marked as follows: “Contains, Confidential, Proprietary, or Privileged Information Exempt from Public Disclosure” and (2) every line and paragraph containing proprietary, privileged, or trade secret information must be clearly marked with [[double brackets]] or highlighting.

Please be aware that the NNSA may make available for public inspection all other comments, in their entirety, submitted by organizations and businesses (except as provided above for proprietary information) or by individuals identifying themselves as representatives of organizations or businesses.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: Responses should not exceed 15 pages, be single spaced, have 1-inch margins, and use Times New Roman 12-point font. Cover pages, table of contents, acronym lists, pictures, and markings identifying proprietary information do not count towards the page limitation.

Please include:

Organization name and point of contact.

A brief overview of your organization's core competencies and experience relevant to AI development, secure cloud environments, and national security missions.

An optional appendix may be provided by respondents to offer feedback or recommend alterations to particular terms and conditions or the NNSA’s policy. This scope extends to standard patent and data rights, as well as the Research, Technology and Economic Security Requirements in Appendix I. The provision of alternative phrasing, alongside a compelling rationale explaining how it would expedite and enhance the efficacy of AI partnerships while upholding the original purpose of each provision, is strongly encouraged. Please note, this appendix is not subject to the page-count restriction mentioned previously.

CONCLUSION: Responses, questions and concerns must be submitted via e-mail no later than January 23, 2026, by 12:00 PM(MST). Late submissions may not be accepted. Any correspondence should include “Transformational AI Capabilities for National Security” in the subject line of the e-mail and be addressed to the contract specialist at clinton.rohloff@nnsa.doe.gov and courtesy copy (CC) the Contracting Officer at stephanie.vigil@nnsa.doe.gov.

POINTS OF CONTACT:

Appendix I: Research, Technology and Economic Security (RTES) Requirements No Entity of Concern as defined in Section 10114 of Public Law 117-167 (42 USC 18912) may participate in the project.

The project is subject to an ongoing research, technology, and economic security risk review and monitoring to identify potential risks of undue foreign influence. As part of the review, NNSA may require the Selectee and/or Project team members for additional information to inform the review.

NNSA may share information regarding the risks identified as part of the RTES due diligence review process or monitoring with other Federal agencies.

In the event an RTES risk is identified, NNSA may require risk mitigation measures, including but not limited to, requiring that an individual or entity not participate in the project. If significant risks are identified and cannot be sufficiently mitigated, NNSA may terminate the [CONTRACT, AWARD, OR OTHER AGREEMENT].

NNSA’s decision regarding a due diligence review is not appealable.

The selectee and project team members must make reasonable efforts to ensure that NNSA has up to date transparency of foreign connections disclosures. If circumstances change which impact the accuracy of the disclosures, the selectee must submit updated disclosures to NNSA within fifteen (15) business days of learning of the changed circumstances. The updated disclosure must be provided to [NNSA RTES EMAIL] and [NNSA SITE OFFICE RTES CONTACT].

The Selectee must provide NNSA with advance notice of the following events, as they relate to the Selectee, Project partners, or Project

Change in ownership or control of the Selectee or team members that increases foreign ownership related to a foreign country of concern Any new or pending parent company, joint venture, subsidiary, or partnership of an entity that is based in or receives funding from any foreign country of concern;

Any new or pending contractual or financial obligation or other agreement specific to a business arrangement, or joint venture-like arrangement with an entity based in, or funded by, any foreign country of concern;

Any new or pending venture capital or institutional investment by an entity that has a general partner or other individual holding a leadership role who has a foreign affiliation with any foreign country of concern;

Any new or pending technology licensing or intellectual property sales or transfers to a foreign country of concern where the underlying technology is in the same technology area as the Project;

Any new or pending foreign business entity, offshore entity, or entity outside the United States that is based in, or funded by, any foreign country of concern;

Any changes to the selectee or project partners’ board of directors, including additions to the number of directors and the identity of new directors. Each notification shall include a complete up-to-date list of all directors (and board observers), including their full name, shareholder affiliation, date of appointment, voting rights, citizenship, duration of term, as well as a description of observer rights as applicable;

Any new or pending indebtedness, liabilities, or obligations to an entity based in, or funded by, any foreign country of concern (whether the selectee or project partner is borrower, surety, guarantor, or other);

Any of the following changes to the equipment proposed for use on the project:

Unmanned aircraft, control, and communication components originally made or manufactured in a foreign country of concern (including relabeled or rebranded equipment) Coded equipment where the source code is written in a foreign country of concern Equipment from a foreign country of concern that will be connected to the internet or other remote communication system Any entity from a foreign country of concern that will have physical or remote access to any part of the equipment used on the Project after delivery.

NNSA may require mitigation to address increased risks of undue foreign influence or if the risks cannot be sufficiently mitigated, NNSA may terminate the [CONTRACT, AWARD, OR OTHER AGREEMENT].