DARPA "Venture Horizons" Request for Information

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency issued a Request for Information on September 14, 2026, closing October 9, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, to identify qualified investors for its Venture Horizons initiative, a non-binding information-gathering effort to connect investors with DARPA Program Managers and R&D performers. Responses are not offers and do not constitute a formal solicitation; DARPA makes no commitment to pursue further action with respondents. The RFI targets family offices, angel investors, venture capital firms, corporate venture capital firms, and private equity or buyout firms with demonstrated commercialization track records. Participants must self-certify that they operate with non-adversarial capital and commit investments derived from Venture Horizons engagements without adversarial capital involvement. DARPA evaluates respondents on four criteria: investment capacity and track record, domain expertise aligned with at least one of DARPA's six technical offices (Multi X Office, Strategic Technology Office, Tactical Technology Office, Defense Sciences Office, Information Processing Techniques Office, Biological Technologies Office), commitment to national and economic security missions and willingness to provide advisory or mentoring support, and unique capabilities including security clearances or hands-on performance experience. Respondents must complete a provided .xlsx response spreadsheet and submit a 25-page maximum narrative in MS Word format (12-point font, one-inch margins) to DARPAVentureHorizons@darpa.mil. Participation involves no government funding or expense reimbursement. DARPA GSA and Senior Commercial Advisor team members are ineligible.