Opticalx, LLC

Opticalx, LLC, a small disadvantaged and woman-owned business based in Tracy, California, operates as a prime contractor on early-stage research and development programs in optical imaging and space surveillance, with all four recent awards held at the prime level and no subcontract footprint.

The company's federal portfolio spans optical sensing innovation and space debris detection. Recent award work includes a $74,792 Phase I SBIR from the Air Force Research Laboratory (awarded May 15, 2024) for development of a "Phase-Space Imager" product, and a $274,996 recipient grant from the National Science Foundation under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084, awarded July 1, 2024) to develop "Space-Time Projection Optical Tomography (SPOT)" — a GPU-accelerated optical system designed to detect and track space debris smaller than 5 centimeters in low Earth orbit. The NSF project runs through December 31, 2025.

Customer concentration is split across three federal agencies. The Air Force Research Laboratory and the National Science Foundation account for two awards totaling $274,796 in potential value, while the Missile Defense Agency holds the remaining two awards. Most significantly, Opticalx was awarded a seat on the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) multiple-award IDIQ contract on December 29, 2025, with a $151 billion ceiling and ten-year performance period through December 28, 2035. An initial task order under SHIELD carries a $500 firm fixed price, with performance at Huntsville, Alabama. The SHIELD vehicle procures multi-domain defense systems for detecting, tracking, and intercepting air, missile, space, cyber, and hybrid threats and encompasses research, prototyping, systems engineering, and production work.

Activity remains early stage: two awards in 2024, two in 2025. Combined potential value stands at $75,000 across the four named awards, though obligated dollars total $350,000 across all four actions, suggesting invoice activity exceeds the stated ceiling values on individual awards.