Tampa software development team Rise8 has been awarded a $95 million contract modification for work with the U.S. Air Force's innovation arm, AFWERX.
The U.S. Department of Defense contract modification is a ceiling increase, expanding it to $100 million for five years to build software development tools and services, according to a release. The contract is for work on AFWERX's Autonomy Prime program, which is developing autonomous technologies for the U.S. Air Force, according to its website.
"It's huge to have a $100 million contract vehicle, and it's key to us hitting our growth targets for the next two years or more," Rise8 CEO and founder Bryon Kroger said.
The contract is an "indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity" Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract, which provides for "an indefinite quantity of services for a fixed time," according to the U.S. General Services Administration website. The modification extended the ordering period from three to five years and raised the contract ceiling from $4.9 million to $100 million, according to a release.
"We demonstrated success and increased the ceiling because there's a lot of demand coming for it," Kroger said.
The contract's modification doesn't equate to the exact dollar value for Rise8. It means the company has landed a source of substantial growth. The expansion also shows Rise8 has met the requirements of the funding initiative, the Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract. It can now receive orders for prenegotiated items from all DOD entities and U.S. federal contracting activities, according to a release.
"It means that we now, for that scope of work, can find customers who are interested and streamline the process of starting work and starting to deliver outcomes for them," Kroger said.
The Small Business Innovation Research program is a federally funded research and development program. Phase III contracts "derive from, extend to or complete an effort made under prior" Small Business Innovation Research funding agreements and allow for commercialization, according to an AFWERX website.
In 2023, Rise8 earned around $16 million in revenue, Kroger said. But in 2024, he plans to bring in $24 million and expand the company to focus on its products through similar contracts versus other traditional government pathways, Kroger said. It has several other projects with the Small Business Innovation Research.
Rise8, founded in 2019, provides digital services. It has engagements, large and small, with entities like the U.S. Space Force and the U.S. Air Force, Kroger said. Rise8 was also an honoree at the 2023 Tampa Bay Inno Awards.
Kroger previously worked for 10 years in the U.S. Air Force. During that time, he was the COO and co-founder of the Kessel Run project, a software development operation in Massachusetts. Kessel Run's mission is to modernize the U.S. Air Force.
As a founding member, the mission is part of what inspired Kroger to found Rise8.
"In order for our military to continue to avoid disruption on the battlefield or be the disruptor, they have to become a software organization in the defense business," Kroger said.
