Forward Edge Ai Inc.

Forward Edge AI Inc., doing business as Tag, is a minority-owned small disadvantaged business based in San Antonio, Texas, that delivers AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and advanced technology research and development services to federal agencies as a prime contractor. The company competes in full-and-open, non-set-aside federal procurements; its minority-ownership and SDB designations appear on awards but are not the driving factor in its prime posture across the federal footprint.

The portfolio spans two distinct capability threads: SBIR and STTR Phase I, II, and III research contracts focused on space communications security, industrial control systems (ICS-SCADA), quantum-resistant encryption, and cybersecurity; and production RPA and AI services supporting federal agency business process automation, particularly at FEMA. Representative prime awards include a $33.2 million STTR Phase III definitive contract from the Secretary of the Air Force for ICS-SCADA systems supporting the 688th Air Wing, awarded August 2023; a $3.1 million definitive contract from the Department of Defense for digital transformation services (performance at Joint Base Andrews), awarded July 2025; a $1.3 million SBIR Phase II contract from Naval Air Warfare Center for research and development, awarded March 2025; a $1.7 million STTR Phase II Other Transaction Agreement from Air Force Research Laboratory for cyber-compliant routing in contested space environments, awarded July 2024; and a series of BPA calls under FEMA's SBIR RPA AI BPA (single-award, $6 million ceiling) ranging from $99,980 to $1.1 million for RPA operations, ECFS file transfer, SAP closeout processes, and supervisor dashboards, issued September 2023 through September 2025.

Customer concentration sits heavily with Department of Defense components and FEMA. The top five customers account for 98% of combined potential value. The Office of the Secretary of Defense dominates on dollars — two awards (a $249 million AI Talent 2.0 multiple-award Basic Ordering Agreement and a $151 billion SHIELD Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense multiple-award IDIQ, both 2023–2025 vintage) carry $499 million in combined potential value — while the Federal Emergency Management Agency leads on award count with eleven awards totaling $10.3 million. The Air Force Materiel Command Research Laboratory (eight awards, $5.9 million) and the Secretary of the Air Force (one award, $33.2 million) round out the active set. The two rankings diverge sharply: FEMA places numerous small task orders under its RPA AI BPA, while DoD's potential value is anchored to two large IDVs that have generated minimal task-order activity to date.

Forward Edge AI holds three principal parent vehicles. The SBIR RPA AI BPA with FEMA ($6 million single-award ceiling, September 2022 through September 2027) has generated ten task orders totaling $4.3 million in combined potential value since September 2023, with most calls firm-fixed-price and completion dates through 2027. The AI Talent 2.0 Basic Ordering Agreement with the Office of the Secretary of Defense ($249 million, May 2023 through May 2028) has not yet produced visible task orders in the award slice. The SHIELD IDIQ with the Missile Defense Agency ($151 billion ceiling, December 2025 through December 2035) received its initial task order for $500 on the award date itself — indicating a newly awarded vehicle with minimal execution history in the source. Forward Edge AI also holds a $250 million multiple-award Blanket Purchase Agreement with the DoD Joint Artificial Intelligence Center for AI test and evaluation services (January 2022 through January 2027).

Activity has accelerated sharply. The portfolio shows three awards in 2021, five in 2022, eleven in 2023, six in 2024, and nine in 2025, reflecting a compound growth trajectory with some modulation in 2024. Five awards (combined potential value $2.6 million) face ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete exposure concentrated in FEMA RPA BPA calls and smaller SBIR Phase I and II contracts.

The vendor operates exclusively as a prime contractor — 100% of awards are prime work with zero subcontractor role in the source data. Service Contract Inventory reporting captures $3.7 million in invoiced federal service-contract revenue across FY2022–FY2024 (FY2022: $0; FY2023: $448 thousand across 1.5 FTEs; FY2024: $3.3 million across 28.0 FTEs), reflecting sharp workforce scaling on RPA and AI delivery services. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, the vendor self-performed all labor with zero subcontractor engagement (0% sub-hours share). Government-paid hourly rates on SCI contracts ranged from a 10th percentile of $38.68/hr through a median of $59.90/hr to a 90th percentile of $113.67/hr, positioning Forward Edge AI as a mid-market labor provider on FEMA RPA tasks. SCI data is a partial view covering only service contracts above the $150,000 reporting threshold and excluding goods, research-only phases, classified work, and non-federal revenue; the SBIR and STTR portfolio (largely R&D-focused) generates additional federal invoicing not captured in SCI.

Forward Edge AI's national NAICS footprint centers on Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (18 awards) and Computer Systems Design Services (11 awards), with PSC coding concentrated on General Science and Technology R&D Services (9 awards) and National Defense R&D Services (8 awards). The company's capability set spans AI-driven process automation, quantum-resistant encryption for space communications, industrial control system cybersecurity, and blockchain-based integrity preservation, delivered across both R&D contract phases and production RPA support for civilian federal agencies. Two NSF grants (total award value $1.27 million under CFDA 47.084 Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program) as recipient further underscore research engagement: a $275,000 Phase I award for cyber-assured space internet devices (machine learning for attack differentiation on small satellites), and a $997,567 Phase II cooperative agreement for blockchain systems preserving communication channel integrity, completed November 2023.