Wireless Research Center Of North Carolina

Wireless Research Center of North Carolina, a Wake Forest-based nonprofit research organization, provides research program support services and commercial accelerators support to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as a prime contractor on full-and-open awards with no set-aside designation. The organization operates primarily as a prime (91% of recent awards) across contracts and federal grants, competing on competitive merit rather than under small-business set-asides.

The organization's federal portfolio concentrates almost entirely on DARPA's research support mission. DARPA accounts for 22 of 33 recent awards (85% of awards by count) and $29.3 million of the $31.2 million combined potential value across all awards. The source notes the vendor was registered as a federal contractor in August 2011 and specializes in wireless technologies, atmospheric sciences, and federal research program support across multiple technical domains including computing, biotechnologies, clean energy, and cybersecurity. Work is performed at Wake Forest, North Carolina; Arlington, Virginia; and Santa Barbara, California.

The vendor holds a $25 million multiple-award Blanket Purchase Agreement with DARPA (BPA HR001124A0004) established August 21, 2024, running through August 20, 2027. As of late 2026, DARPA has issued approximately 21 task orders under this vehicle, with individual task order values ranging from $9,324 to $296,859 on firm fixed-price terms. Recent representative awards include a $284,100 task order (December 17, 2025, performance in Santa Barbara through May 17, 2027) for commercial accelerators support, a $262,000 task order (May 15, 2025, Wake Forest) for research program support, and a $260,000 task order (August 13, 2025, Wake Forest) for research program support services. The BPA vehicle structure enables the vendor to respond rapidly to task orders supporting DARPA's innovation acceleration and commercial technology transition for defense applications.

Beyond DARPA, the vendor holds secondary customer relationships with the Small Business Administration's Office of Investments and Innovations ($1.7 million definitive contract for the Regional Innovation Clusters Initiative, awarded September 28, 2024, base through July 11, 2025, with option years through a multi-year period), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (three awards totaling $65 thousand for humidity research support and data collection), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (federal grant for digital talent and workforce development in underserved communities, awarded September 1, 2024, completion April 30, 2025), and the Rural Business Cooperative Services (federal grant for rural business cooperative opportunity, awarded July 29, 2024, completion July 29, 2026). The vendor also subcontracts to CACI Technologies LLC (satellite communication equipment and engineering support, November 18, 2025) and Applied Research Associates Inc. (systems support, September 25, 2025).

Activity has grown sharply: the vendor received one award in 2019, two in 2022, six in 2024, and 21 in 2025, reflecting increasing DARPA task order velocity under the BPA vehicle. Twelve awards representing $2.6 million in combined potential value reach completion within the next twenty-four months, triggering recompete cycles for those task orders. Service Contract Inventory data shows minimal reportable invoicing (zero dollars invoiced on SCI-reportable prime contracts in FY2024 and FY2025), suggesting the vendor's federal work operates below the $150,000 SCI reporting threshold or is structured as grant awards and smaller task orders outside SCI scope. The vendor's primary NAICS categories reflect research support (Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services on 22 awards) and scientific research (Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences on 3 awards). The nonprofit structure and federal research mission position the organization as a specialized innovation acceleration provider embedded in DARPA's ecosystem rather than a broad federal services vendor.