Sole-Source Award Notice: START - AI Assistant Expansion
Awarded Limited / Sole Source Justification Posted
- Solicitation number
- 7571TE26QE00291
- Agency
- Not on record
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- Contract number
- 47QTCA19D00MH-7571TE26F80337 Federal contract award
- NAICS code
- 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services
- PSC
- R499 Support- Professional: Other
- Place of performance
- Fairfax, Virginia, United States
- Points of contact
-
- Christopher Shih christopher.shih@hhs.gov
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The National Institutes of Health, through its Office of the Director and OMAS IT Services, has awarded a sole-source contract to Plexus Scientific Corporation under the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Program via the General Services Administration on September 25, 2026, for AI Assistant Expansion of the Strategic Tracking and Reporting Tool (START) platform.
The justification cites GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)(1)(ii), establishing that Plexus Scientific is the only known contractor with full access to START's proprietary environment and licensing. Market research confirmed no other vendors possess the necessary technical expertise and active license access. A recent limited source solicitation (7571TE26Q00202) issued to four offerors yielded only two quotes, with Plexus Scientific being the sole technically acceptable response due to proprietary software coding language access requirements. The expansion will create a unified knowledge management, messaging, and operational support platform leveraging automation, AI-generated summarization, meta-tagging, and human quality control workflows to support the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Deliverables include webforms, dashboards, reporting tools, search and filter features, and NIH system integrations. Performance period is 12 months using fiscal year 2026 funds. Plexus Scientific is a small business and currently maintains an IDIQ contract (75N98023D00003) for Knowledge Performance Management and Reporting System. Specific award value is redacted.
Notice text
Awarded contract 47QTCA19D00MH to unknown vendor for unknown amount on 2026-09-25.
Attachments
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| HHS Template - SSJ under FAR part 8.4 START - Redacted.pdf |
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