SmartTec_Sole_Source_Letter_Vandenberg.pdf

SmartTec Inc.

540 Mohawk Drive, Boulder, CO 80303 dod@okaya.me | 720-755-8575 | okaya.me/government

CAGE: 8J9M9 | UEI: JJL6CDZ83QA8

July 2, 2026

SSgt Deywan Hunt Contract Specialist 30th Contracting Squadron Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA

Subject: Sole Source and Proprietary Rights Letter — Okaya Feasibility Study

Dear SSgt Hunt, This letter is provided in support of your market research for the Okaya Feasibility Study requirement referenced above. It confirms the sole source status of SmartTec Inc. and describes the proprietary rights and specialized capabilities that prevent any other vendor from fulfilling this requirement.

1. Confirmation of Sole Source Status SmartTec Inc. is the sole developer, owner, and provider of the Okaya platform and all associated software, algorithms, trained models, and services quoted for this requirement. Okaya is not sold, licensed, or distributed through any reseller, distributor, systems integrator, or other third party. No other company is authorized to provide, modify, host, or support the Okaya platform, and no other entity possesses the source code, trained models, or validated datasets on which the platform operates. SmartTec Inc. is therefore the only source capable of providing the Okaya platform and the associated feasibility study services described in the referenced quote.

The Government does not hold technical data, software, or license rights in the Okaya platform sufficient to permit acquisition of this capability from any other source. All technical data and computer software associated with Okaya are proprietary to SmartTec Inc. and, where delivered under Government contract, are delivered with SBIR data rights restrictive markings.

2. Proprietary Technology and Intellectual Property

The Okaya platform is proprietary technology developed exclusively by SmartTec Inc. The specific elements that prevent other vendors from fulfilling this requirement include:

• U.S. Patent Application (patent pending). SmartTec Inc.’s multi-modal AI assessment methodology — the integration of vision, voice, and language digital biomarkers into a single browser-based check-in — is the subject of a pending U.S. patent application (19/174,737).

• The Okaya Score. A proprietary scoring algorithm that extracts 67 digital biomarkers across facial micro-expressions, voice acoustics, and language patterns, and computes personalized, baseline-referenced readiness and fatigue scores. The feature set, weighting, and personalization methodology are trade secrets of SmartTec Inc.

• Proprietary trained models and validation datasets. Okaya’s models are trained and bias-validated on proprietary annotated datasets spanning multiple demographic groups. These datasets and the resulting model weights are owned solely by SmartTec Inc. and are not available to any other party.

• Sanora conversational AI agent. A proprietary conversational agent for scalable remote data collection, validated through IRB/HRPO-approved research with USAF/USSF personnel.

• Privacy-first architecture. A proprietary zero-video-storage, no-facial-identification processing pipeline, deployable on any smartphone or laptop with no application installation (BYOD), with AWS GovCloud readiness.

To the best of our knowledge, no commercially available alternative combines multi-modal (vision, voice, language) digital biomarker extraction, individualized baseline scoring, and a privacy-first BYOD architecture validated with Department of the Air Force populations.

3. Why the Feasibility Study Services Cannot Be Performed by Another Vendor The requested effort is not a commodity software license that a third party could evaluate independently; it is a feasibility study whose execution is inseparable from the Okaya platform itself.

Conducting the study requires deploying and configuring the platform, operating its proprietary model and data pipelines, calibrating individual baselines, and interpreting Okaya Score outputs — activities that require access to source code, model internals, and analytic methodologies that exist only within SmartTec Inc. and are not licensed to any other party. In addition, SmartTec Inc. has established IRB/HRPO-approved research protocols and experience collecting and safeguarding data from USAF/USSF populations; a different vendor would need to independently develop the underlying technology and obtain equivalent research approvals before it could even begin comparable work.

4. SBIR Data Rights and Phase III Eligibility

The technology quoted for this requirement was developed and matured under USAF SBIR Phase II contract FA864924P0008, under which SmartTec Inc. retains SBIR data rights in accordance with DFARS 252.227-7018. The requested feasibility study derives from, extends, and completes work performed under that SBIR effort. Accordingly, we believe this requirement qualifies as SBIR Phase III work under 15 U.S.C. § 638(r) and the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, which authorize agencies to award Phase III contracts on a sole source basis to the SBIR awardee — an independent and streamlined basis for a sole source award, in addition to the proprietary considerations above.

SmartTec Inc.’s prior SBIR performance includes integration with the 71st SOS CV-22 pre-flight risk management process, expansion to the 73rd SOS and AETC 12th FTW, and engagement with USSF Delta personnel at Vandenberg SFB.

SmartTec Inc. is a small business concern under NAICS 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences).

5. Point of Contact Should you require any additional information or documentation to support your determination, please contact me directly at dod@okaya.me or 720-755-8575.

Sincerely, Gregory Menvielle Chief Executive Officer SmartTec Inc. (d/b/a Okaya)