After a long cross-country tour seeking innovators, the U.S. Army has narrowed down its search to 25 small businesses that will help the service come up with new disruptive concepts and technologies.
The Army recently completed the first phase of its second Expeditionary Technology Search competition, better known as xTechSearch 2.0. The contest aims to spur U.S. innovation and economic growth and seek new ways to advance Army capabilities in areas such as air and missile defense, soldier lethality, and medical and military engineering technologies.
Entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to Army judges all across the nation, from California to Maryland. The judges then picked the top 25 from 60 companies. This crop of innovators will be featured at the Association of the Army's Global Force Symposium and Exposition in Huntsville, Alabama, today through Thursday.
The 25 companies will now go on to the next round of competition, which takes place in Octoberin Washington, D.C.