AFWERX and SpaceWERX Select Rise8 for Program Year 2025 STRATFI
Under U.S. Air Force SBIR to Enable Rapid, Continuous Delivery of Mission-Critical Applications
AFWERX and SpaceWERX Select Rise8 for Program Year 2025 STRATFI under U.S. Air Force SBIR to Enable Rapid, Continuous Delivery of Mission-Critical Applications
Rise8 to support U.S. Space Force, Space Systems Command to establish a path to production for commercial and custom applications
TAMPA, Fla. – March 19, 2025 – Rise8 announces its selection for the SpaceWERX Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) under the U.S. Air Force’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Rise8 will support the U.S. Space Force, Space Systems Command to enable rapid, continuous delivery of its mission-critical applications by establishing a continuous Authorization to Operate (cATO) pipeline for third-party applications on Warp Core. Warp Core is the USSF Data as a Service (DaaS) platform for data ingestion, processing, normalization, analysis, and visualization across the global space enterprise.
“Deploying a cATO pipeline on the Warp Core platform will unlock the full potential of development opportunities with significant mission impact, increased deployment frequency, and reduced lead time,” said Bryon Kroger, CEO and founder of Rise8. “We’re honored by our selection as a STRATFI awardee and look forward to helping the U.S. Space Force maximize current technology investments while increasing flexibility, speed, and reliability for continuous delivery of valuable software users love.”
The STRATFI program is designed to help advance successful solutions from Phase II SBIR projects to Phase III, full-scale deployment. Previously, Rise8 was awarded a Phase II SBIR focused on developing pathways to production and a Phase I contract with SpaceWERX. The full list of STRATFI awardees can be found here.
About Rise8
Rise8 provides elite software development for critical missions, revolutionizing the way government agencies and companies build, deploy, and utilize critical software. Rise8 is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) with headquarters in Tampa, FL, and a fully remote workforce. Learn more at https://www.rise8.us/ and on LinkedIn, and X.
About 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 afresearchlab.com.
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 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at four hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed over 6,200 new contracts worth more than $4.7 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: afwerx.com.
About SpaceWERX
As the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force and a unique division within AFWERX, SpaceWERX inspires and empowers collaboration with innovators to accelerate capabilities and shape our future in space. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SpaceWERX employs 40 military, civilian and contractor personnel executing an annual $457 million budget. Additionally, SpaceWERX partners with Space Systems Command's Commercial Space Office (COMSO) as a collaborative program. Since it was aligned under AFRL in Aug. 2021, SpaceWERX has executed 1,106 contracts worth more than $897 million to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: spacewerx.us.
The views expressed are those of Rise8 and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Space Force, the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.