Pitch days, industry days, conferences, and proposal deadlines for 2026–2027. Dates shift — always confirm on the official page before booking anything.
DIU posts new Areas of Interest continuously; each has its own solution-brief deadline — check weekly.
Online
Details ↗Continuously open call for dual-use hardware startups (TRL 3+) to submit pitch decks for ~$1–3M OT awards.
Online
Details ↗Sea-services innovation conference — strong for maritime autonomy and naval commercial-tech teams. ~Dates unconfirmed.
San Diego, CA
Details ↗Navy League's global maritime expo — a top venue for USV/maritime-autonomy and counter-UAS commercial tech.
National Harbor, MD
Details ↗The space-industry gathering — relevant to DIU's space portfolio and Space Force commercial solicitations. ~Dates unconfirmed.
Colorado Springs, CO
Details ↗SOCOM's marquee event — heavy on autonomy, counter-UAS, and rapid-fielding commercial tech.
Tampa, FL
Details ↗Innovation-focused summit connecting nontraditional companies with DoD buyers and SBIR/OTA pathways.
Washington, DC
Details ↗The Army's largest gathering — key for Army counter-UAS, energy, and autonomy commercial solicitations. ~Dates unconfirmed.
Washington, DC
Details ↗Where defense-innovation policy and capital converge — useful signal on DIU and Replicator priorities. ~Date unconfirmed.
Simi Valley, CA
Details ↗Mentoring sessions, showcases, and office hours at OnRamp Hubs for companies outside the coastal tech centers.
AZ, HI, KS, OH, WA
Details ↗Application window for the NSIN Vector dual-use accelerator, now run under DIU. ~Date unconfirmed.
Virtual + OnRamp Hubs
Details ↗Next year's maritime expo — plan early for maritime-autonomy and counter-UAS demos. ~Dates unconfirmed.
National Harbor, MD
Details ↗Procurement-focused conference connecting defense and aerospace startups with acquisition decision-makers — useful for founders mapping the path from prototype to production contracts.
Austin, TX
Details ↗The Army's premier modernization and materiel event, drawing PEOs and program offices — a strong venue to meet the transition partners who fund production of a successful DIU prototype.
Huntsville, AL
Details ↗A dual-use / SBIR-heavy summit connecting startups with DoD program managers, primes, and investors — one of the better rooms for a dual-use founder to find a government sponsor.
National Harbor, MD
Details ↗The largest land-forces event in North America. For DIU-track startups it is a dense concentration of Army program offices, primes, and counter-UAS / Replicator-2 stakeholders.
Washington, DC
Details ↗Co-hosted by AFCEA and USNI, WEST is the premier naval-sea-services event on the West Coast — strong for maritime autonomy, C2, and networks founders. Exact 2027 dates unconfirmed.
San Diego, CA
Details ↗The 2027 edition of the Navy League's maritime expo — plan a booth or meetings early if maritime autonomy and counter-UAS are your lanes.
National Harbor, MD
Details ↗Chasing one program often means you qualify for others you haven't heard of. These sister guides cover more of the U.S. non-dilutive landscape — same honest, no-nonsense approach. Not sure which fits what you're building? Ask us — we'll point you at the right doors, even the ones that aren't ours.
America's ~$4B/yr non-dilutive seed fund across 11 agencies.
Visit →Air Force & Space Force open topics and $3–15M matching funds.
Visit →Tipping Point, TechFlights, NIAC and the space startup ladder.
Visit →Army prize competitions with a fast lane into Army SBIR.
Visit →