The US Army’s xTech Program has named six winners of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Grand Challenge, handing out $2 million in one of its biggest prize pools to date.
The teams rolled out AI tools that clean, verify, and sharpen data — the kind of behind-the-scenes tech that cuts grunt work, saves costs, and keeps military systems running smarter.
Ozni AI snagged first place with its COMbINE engine, while PeopleTec, Snorkel AI, Latent AI, Exia Labs, and R-DEX Systems rounded out the leaderboard, earning between $25,000 and $500,000 each. Finalists had already pocketed $35,000 earlier to polish their prototypes.
All six winners will now enter a “Plug and Play” accelerator phase, in which they will get mentorship, industry connections, and a shot at plugging their tech into army programs.
AI Strategy Takes Shape
The contest ties into the army’s broader AI Implementation Plan, which aims to wire artificial intelligence into daily operations and scale it across the force.
It was run with the help of the Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors and Project Linchpin, the open-source push for military AI.
“The xTech AI Grand Challenge reflects our enduring commitment to partnering with innovators across industry and academia to build the Army of the future,” said Dr. Matt Willis, director of Army Innovation Programs.
“This competition isn’t just about funding – it’s about shaping the foundation for how the Army adopts and governs AI enterprise-wide.”
Since 2018, the xTech program has hosted 45 contests and awarded more than $30 million, pulling in fresh ideas and pushing them toward battlefield use.
