Recent AcqBot Metrics
The sole-source SBIR Phase III IDIQ is expanding for enterprise-wide deployment across the Department of War; the platform now supports more than 70,000 users
Nobody replaces 78,000 people. What (AcqBot) does is make the ones who stayed fast enough to cover the gap.”— Michelle Ferry, CEO, Trenchant Analytics, LLCGREAT FALLS, VA, UNITED STATES, August 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Air Force has increased the ceiling on Trenchant Analytics’ sole-source SBIR Phase III IDIQ contract for AcqBot from $9.9 million to $99.9 million. This tenfold increase funds the enterprise deployment across the Department of War and supports the platform’s planned transition to a program of record in FY27.
As of May 2026, the Government Accountability Office reported that the DoD civilian workforce ended 2025 with over 78,000 fewer employees than at the start—a decline of roughly ten percent. About 53,200 workers accepted deferred resignations. Additionally, a hiring freeze left 59,500 positions unfilled. The acquisition workload those employees had been handling did not disappear.
Contracts still need to be awarded. An increasing portion of that work is now managed through AcqBot.
The platform supports over 70,000 users across more than 2,000 organizations. AcqBot leverages large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, and robotic process automation to move an acquisition from requirements development to award. Contracting officers use it to draft PWS, SOW, SOO, J&A, MOA, and MOU documents, create market research reports, publish sources sought notices and solicitations, handle vendor questions, and run source selection boards.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center identified AcqBot as a requirement in its 2026 Digital Strategy. Development work was funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory through the Small Business Innovation Research program, including a $5.1 million Phase II award under AFWERX open topic AFX244-DPCSO1, and the Phase III IDIQ that has now been expanded was awarded. AcqBot serves as a core component of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy, which spans 74 data connections. A separate Air Force Sustainment Center task order, awarded in September 2025, is deploying AcqBot 2.0 into the sustainment supply chain enterprise anchored on the 448th Supply Chain Management Wing.
AcqBot holds an Impact Level 5 Authority to Operate from AFRL and operates on IL2, IL4, and IL5 government infrastructure. Agency authorization for FedRAMP High is currently in progress. The platform is also accessible through a SBIR Phase 3 Sole-source BPA.
Under 15 U.S.C. 638(r)(4), an agency can issue a Phase III award to the company that developed the technology without further justification, including on a sole source basis, based on the original competitively awarded SBIR. The vehicle and accreditation are already in place. With the higher ceiling, a component can now scale onto the contract without initiating a new procurement or waiting out a protest window.
“The Air Force didn’t raise this ceiling because the software demos well. They raised it because the Department came up 78,000 people short last year and the awards still have to go out the door. I want to be careful about how I say this, because AcqBot is not replacing those people. Nobody replaces 78,000 people. What it does is make the ones who stayed fast enough to cover the gap. A ten-times ceiling is the Air Force saying this is the vehicle and it’s open.”
— Michelle Ferry, CEO, Trenchant Analytics, LLC
Trenchant Analytics plans to use the expanded ceiling to onboard additional Department of War components and to complete the engineering and accreditation work necessary for the FY27 program of record transition. Government personnel with .mil credentials can request access at acqbot.mil.
ABOUT TRENCHANT ANALYTICS
Trenchant Analytics, LLC builds AI-powered acquisition and business development software for the Department of War. Its flagship platform, AcqBot, automates federal acquisition from requirements development through award and supports 70,000 users across the Department under an Air Force sole-source SBIR Phase III contract. Trenchant Analytics is a woman-owned small business headquartered in Great Falls, Virginia. Learn more at tacgov.com and acqbot.com.
John Ferry
Trenchant Analytics
+1 740-317-7424
email us here
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
