Pax Silica Artificial Intelligence Assistance Project

The Department of State Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs is soliciting applications for cooperative agreements to establish a trusted AI supply chain credentialing and provenance platform, with an application deadline of August 20, 2026. The opportunity funds Phase 1 implementation piloted in Panama and Phase 2 expansion to multiple Pax Silica partner economies. Applicants must incorporate both phases with multiple potential Phase 2 target countries identified and justified.

Eligible applicants are U.S. for-profit organizations (including small businesses), U.S.-based nonprofits and NGOs with or without 501(c)(3) status, and U.S. institutions of higher education. All applicants must obtain a Unique Entity Identifier and maintain active SAM.gov registration. Cost sharing of at least $25,000 is optional but receives five bonus points; no match requirement exists.

The Department anticipates awarding 1–3 cooperative agreements ranging from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000 each, with approximately $50,000,000 total available from FY23/25/25 CHIPS and ITSI sources. The project start date is September 30, 2026, with a preferred 24-month performance period extendable to 36 months with strong justification. Work is performed across Phase 1 (Panama) and Phase 2 locations, which include Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Norway, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

The platform must integrate existing customs, port, and shipper tracking systems to provide provenance visibility and support AI supply chain security for high-value products. No preferred technical standards are mandated. The award is structured as a cost-reimbursable cooperative agreement with substantial Department involvement in implementation planning and approval of all project stages. Applicants may propose subawards via fixed amount awards. Sub-awardees and foreign participants need not be identified at application; named participants may be approved at award with others added post-award subject to Department approval.

Merit evaluation uses a 100-point scale: project quality and feasibility (25 points), organizational capacity (15 points), project planning (15 points), financial capacity and cost effectiveness (15 points), monitoring and evaluation (15 points), sustainability (10 points), and cost sharing (5 points). Applicants must disclose potential conflicts of interest per 2 CFR 200.112. For-profit entities are subject to FAR cost principles rather than 2 CFR 200 Subpart E. The Department maintains rights of use to intangible property created under the project per 2 CFR 200.315. Assistance Listing number is 19.322 (Economic Statecraft). Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by November 30, 2026.