Vectara Awarded a TACFI Contract to Enable U.S. Air Force to Use Its Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) Platform

Vectara Will Integrate Its Platform Into a Secure Government Environment, GovCloud

PALO ALTO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 8, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Vectara, Inc., an end-to-end platform for embedding powerful generative AI features into applications, announces it has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract focused on integrating its Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) platform into GovCloud to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded, and now on September 4, 2024, Vectara will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

“We are honored that the U.S. Air Force selected Vectara to integrate our RAG platform into GovCloud for their use, and we are proud to be working with them to improve their retrieval augmented generation capabilities,” said Amr Awadallah, CEO of Vectara.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

About Vectara

Vectara is an end-to-end platform for embedding powerful generative AI features into applications with extraordinary results. Built on a solid hybrid-search core, Vectara delivers the shortest path to a correct answer/action through a safe, secure, and trusted entry point. Vectara’s serverless Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) as a service platform (RAGaaS) allows businesses to quickly, safely, and affordably integrate best-in-class conversational AI and question-answering into their application with zero-shot precision. Vectara never trains on your data, allowing businesses to embed generative AI capabilities without the risk of data or privacy violations.

About Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)

The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit www.afresearchlab.com¹.

About AFWERX

As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 325 military, civilian and contractor personnel at six hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed 4,697 contracts worth more than $2.6 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: www.afwerx.com².

Sean Anderson
Vectara
sean@tryvectara.com

¹ http://www.afresearchlab.com
² http://www.afwerx.com