The U.S. Department of Defense announced July 8 it had awarded a contract worth up to $950 million to 29 companies, including at least three in Austin: Hypergiant Galactic Systems Inc., Oracle America Inc. and Parasanti Inc.
The work will be for the Joint All Domain Command and Control initiative, or JADC2. That is DoD’s effort to connect sensors from the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Space Force into a single network, according to the Congressional Research Service.
This is crucial as the nation’s armed services continues to modernize their operations, including enabling innovation to be implemented in the field as rapidly possible. That is a primary reason why the Army created Futures Command and chose Austin as its headquarters in 2018.
The contract language stipulates that any awards made will be “leveraging open systems design” and “modern software and algorithm development in order to enable Joint All Domain Command and Control.”
The work will help develop and operate systems that will compose “a unified force across all domains” — air, land, sea, space, cyber and the electromagnetic spectrum.
Work under this contract is “expected to be completed by May 28, 2025,” according to the announcement. The contract operates under a “indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-multiple award” structure. No funds were “obligated at the time of award,” according to the DoD.
“We are honored that the Department of Defense has recognized both the tremendous effort put forth already by Hypergiant and also the sky-high potential for our team to push DoD capability even further into the future,” Hypergiant co-founder Ben Lamm said in an email. “This award is not only a huge testament to Hypergiant’s unique value, but also validation that modern software best practices are alive and well within the DoD. We are incredibly excited about the potential for JADC2, and are honored to have been selected to play a unique role in its foundation.”
Hypergiant Galactic Systems is a division of Hypergiant Industries LLC, a Texas-based artificial intelligence company that Lamm co-founded in 2018. Its largest office is in Austin, in addition to offices in Dallas, Houston, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The uses of its AI tech span a diverse range of sectors such as critical infrastructure, defense, space, health care, retail and food and beverage. Its customers include Sumitomo Corp., Boeing, Schlumberger, Booz Allen Hamilton and DoD.
Lamm, who was replaced in May as CEO of the company by Mike Betzer, said in an email that the company’s Hypergiant Galactic Systems division, which focuses on space and defense, applied for the contract in October.
“We’ve been in full on growth mode for several months,” Lamm said. “The opportunities this vehicle will unlock for us will simply accelerate that growth curve. As for offices, we’ve been entirely remote since Covid, and are beginning to look at office space opportunities to support a more hybrid workspace that we’re well versed in given that we have a distributed team of the best talent out there.”
Hypergiant was named earlier this week to the Army Applications Lab's Robotic Combat Vehicle Sustainment Cohort, which will help the Army develop its next-generation combat vehicle. It was one of two Austin companies selected by the lab, along with SparkCognition Inc. In total, 10 startups were selected — each can receive up to $200,000 under the program, with an opportunity to receive up to $1.5 million for future work.
Parasanti provides artificial intelligence and machine learning analytics to customers such as the Army, the Air Force and Special Operations Command — “every branch of the military, including Space Force,” said Head of Business Development Max Adams, a former Army special operator, in May. James Hancock and Joshua Seagroves launched the company in 2019.
The bootstrapped and profitable business gathers data from wearables used by members of the armed forces and combines that information with vehicle diagnostics and sensors in the area of operations. The company also has a Dallas office.
Meanwhile, legacy software behemoth Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) in December moved its headquarters to Austin from California, although it still has a huge campus in Redwood City, south of San Francisco.
The company opened its Austin campus in 2018. At the time, the company said the campus could eventually grow to 10,000 employees, although at last check its local headcount was about 2,500. It's been steadily growing in Austin, expanding its campus off Riverside Drive and putting its first U.S. startup accelerator in the Texas capital.
This story was updated with more information about the Joint All Domain Command and Control contract.
