Back to Company SearchSBIR-STTR-Tibbetts Award Winner - SIMBA Chain
2020 Tibbetts Award Winner SIMBA Chain is making it easy for organizations to integrate blockchain t...
Company
Portfolio Data
SIMBA CHAIN INC
UEI: HT9SYDMCKD77
Number of Employees: 42
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
SBIR/STTR Involvement
Year of first award: 2019
6
Phase I Awards
6
Phase II Awards
100%
Conversion Rate
$798,864
Phase I Dollars
$24,330,173
Phase II Dollars
$25,129,037
Total Awarded
Success Stories
See what our company has achieved through SBIR/STTR funding.
Awards
Omniscient
Amount: $199,999 Topic: AF25A-T004
Military supply chains are increasingly complex, requiring rapid, data-driven decisions to maintain operational readiness and sustain global logistics networks. Yet, the heterogeneity and siloed nature of available data, ranging from legacy maintenance records to real-time sensor feeds, create significant integration challenges and make it difficult for the Air Force to unify disparate data sources. Information about supply chains often resides in separate databases and formats, resulting in fragmented visibility across aircraft parts, vendor networks, and maintenance schedules. Traditional data warehouses and dashboards struggle to accommodate dynamic or unstructured inputs, e.g., PDF forms, sensor logs, etc., leaving decision-makers with incomplete or stale insights. The AFRL Earth 616 STRATFI program, led by SIMBA Chain, has successfully integrated data from disparate sources, including OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, along with public data sources, including news, social media, public supply chain information and supplier provenance trails that identify suppliers’ overall risk. Earth 616 has also leveraged AI and semantic web technologies to structure unstructured data, enabling automated classification; with ontologies defining the domain model including entities, relationships, and constraints and synthetic Ontology Design Patterns (ODPs), to provide reusable templates capable of adapting to new contexts. This STTR Phase I, called Omniscient, or “all knowing”, provides a fabric to connect AI knowledge and data, making AI usable (by machines and humans) and scalable within Earth 616. Omniscient focuses on two key areas that build on this prior work and provide significant benefits such as common APIs, common knowledge patterns, scalability and simple user interaction to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs): Knowledge-Driven Data Fabric that provides an overarching architecture to host the various AI services to create a resilient, reusable, scalable layer for common and efficient machine to machine interaction for scaling Earth 616’s general strategy towards AI.Graph Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for intelligent user interaction that provides a backend API-driven agentic service that uses LLMs to convert from a simple natural language question to a Graph database query for the retrieval of machine processable results, with the agent passing the results to the LLM to convert back to a human readable format. The agentic approach should also be capable of selecting the appropriate source to ascertain the relevant answer, e.g., it could use the Graph database for a knowledge base to retrieve relevant facts, vectors for measuring difference between data points and LLMs for more responses that require more general knowledge.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2025
DOD
USAF
Secure Enclave Environment for Fostering Collaboration and Increasing Readiness (SEE)
Amount: $1,999,987 Topic: N201-X02
The Air Force oversees a complex and critical supply chain vital to our national defense and in our existing Earth 616 program we are collecting data from Tier1 and Tier 2 suppliers surrounding the mission critical KC-46 aircraft. We created a decentralized permissioning layer called SIMBA's Secure Asset Platform that uses Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) to securely share such data. However, the permissioning layer is not enough - what is needed is the capability to host sensitive data e.g. CUI, in a secure IL5 environment so that data can only be viewed in that environment, and not downloaded. This project by SIMBA Chain (SIMBA) addresses this issue by developing a Secure Enclave Environment (SEE) to foster collaboration, surrounding manufacturing data, with the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), and other stakeholders. Small and mid-sized manufacturers (SMMs) face significant challenges to meet stringent data governance and security standards and lack the infrastructure or expertise to host sensitive data themselves. The SEE will provide SMMs with a secure remote desktop environment that does not involve any SMM infrastructure but provides a secure way of viewing and collaborating on USAF manufacturing data. For example, bidding on technical data packages (TDP) or viewing data from other sensitive data assets, including enabling lower tiers to effectively exchange data with higher tiers. The SEE can dramatically increase mission readiness by fostering collaboration between internal and external USAF partners. Examples include collaboration between the KC-46 SPOs and the DIB, interactions with international allies, such as Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or to enable USAF to communicate the tracking of critical, high value assets to the deployed warfighter. To this end, we will demonstrate this concept using an In-Transit Visibility (ITV) use case, in collaboration with DLA, to track mission critical assets across multiple continents. This will provide the capability for tracking assets in KC46 cargo missions. Currently 5 containers are tracked across the world but this will be expanded to track hundreds of assets. This SBIR Phase II SEE aims to provide a secure platform leveraging blockchain technology for data integrity and immutability, ensuring that only authorized parties can access the data. It includes features such as end-to-end encryption, detailed logging of data interactions, and a secure, view-only environment to protect data from unauthorized access or download. A single query on a graph database within the SEE will show the entire location ITV history of an asset enabling advanced anticipatory analytics. Tasks involve SEE validation, security enhancements, integration of additional features, extensive testing, and preparation for production-ready deployment within the Air Force's secure infrastructure, addressing both technical and operational challenges to meet the Air Force's needs.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2024
DOD
USAF
STRATFI - BASECAMP SEQUENTIAL PHASE II
Amount: $17,599,514 Topic: AF192-001
The STRATFI Earth 616 project will create a proof of concept secure Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) based environment to provide near real-time visibility and traceability, along with associated securing of digital assets, for parts and data from an i
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2023
DOD
USAF
TOKENIZATION: THE FUTURE OF SPACE DEBRIS (applies to all focus areas)
Amount: $249,989 Topic: AF21S-TCSO1
The growth of space debris is a mounting challenge for governments and the commercial space sector as objects can collide with satellites or space stations inhabited by humans. Significant amounts of debris from Russia’s Nov. 15 anti-satellite weapon test
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2022
DOD
USAF
Digital Blockchain Budgeting Accountability and Tracking (DiBaT): Tracking Funding and Resources Using Blockchain
Amount: $749,629 Topic: AF211-CSO1
In Phase I, we leveraged our SIMBA Integrity (SI) Toolkit to address information (data) warfare needs pertinent to the 16th Air Force to mitigate mis/disinformation by identifying where our SI Toolkit could be integrated using our Python software development kit (SDK). A process where the SI scans a file system for file changes (initial writes or changes) or integrates with other systems to ingest information, and records their fingerprint on the blockchain. Our Phase I research/research and development (R/R&D) set the stage for Phase II research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) to inform the risk to data, enhance data integrity, promote chain of custody, and provide an ability to establish a fingerprint and verify the fingerprint at all stages of the data lifecycle. Our Phase II RDT&E will equip the Air Force and greater DoD with an improved financial management (FM) data visualization, transparency, and auditability solution called, Digital Blockchain Budgeting Accountability and Tracking (DiBaT): Tracking Funding and Resources Using Blockchain for tracking funds. This will equip the USAF with a NextGen ability to: Determine FM and business intelligence needs for a targeted FM vignette and conduct a gap analysis to identify where a blockchain application adds value. Track and Trace funds to better allocate funding to lean FM management processes by tying in benefits to supply chain visibility and initiating with select FM ecosystems and platforms. Establish a flexible digital budgeting baseline with the SIMBA platform to identify traceability data. DiBAT will help the Air Force FM and business intelligence communities: Enable portfolio-based management of DoD acquisition programs Prioritize capability development over long-term sustainment Compete within portfolios focused on rapid capability delivery Exempt key portfolios from color of money restrictions (e.g., software) Expand “digital” to include PPBE Irrefutable tracing of appropriation from apportionment to expenditure Real-time actual costs tied to digital engineering thread Raise Congressional confidence through continuous insight Establish Free Cash Flow incentive: Exempt documented savings from color of money restrictions to: Allow Commanders to use a portion for immediate priorities Allow Department to use a portion for strategic priorities
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2022
DOD
USAF
RApidly Deployable CNC AM-MCB (RAD^2 CAM-MCB)
Amount: $1,482,898 Topic: AF203-CSO3
Self-contained “RApidly Deployable computer numerical control (CNC) AM–modular container building (MCB) (RAD2 CAM-MCB)” with field of view (FOV) capabilities to bring unprecedented additive manufacturing (AM) capability to front-line munitions personnel,
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2022
DOD
USAF
AWK: Additive with Knowledge
Amount: $999,916 Topic: AF203-DCSO3
The Air Force logistics and supply chain is a complex system that involves thousands of participants globally, with millions of parts being designed, manufactured, inspected and transported. The emergence of additive manufacturing (AM) demonstrates vast b
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2021
DOD
USAF
8 - Master Command and Control for Multiple Activity Visibility
Amount: $1,498,229 Topic: N201-X02
During the Authenticity Ledger for Auditable Military Enclaved Data Access (ALAMEDA) Phase 1 effort, SIMBA Chain worked with USMC Depot Albany stakeholders to define the use case for a blockchain-based prototype to monitor the inventory and movement of physical assets at the Depot. SIMBA Chain and USMC Albany stakeholders selected the M2A1 .50 Caliber use case to integrate Bill of Materials (BOM) data and data from public sources onto a blockchain to create a permanent, verifiable record of exchange. The ALAMEDA Phase 1 effort resulted in the architecture, design, and prototype of a blockchain-based system that could import a BOM spreadsheet, integrate its data with data from public sources and store the aggregated data in a non-repudiable way using a blockchain, while maintaining the blockchain entity relationships (depots, suppliers, assemblies, parts, etc) using a graph structure. This system is capable of correlating data from the BOM with data from public repositories to provide a robust dataset that provides the proof of concept single source of truth ledger to support monitoring the inventory and movement of physical assets. Phase 1 focused on a single M2A1 BOM use case and provided data analysis tools that provided initial statistical insights into the BOM data. It also allowed sophisticated querying of the blockchain data using SIMBA Chain’s GraphQL system, which enabled complex questions to be answered. The need the prototype aims to address is “Demand Sensing” so parts are available when they are required. Long lead time for required parts can cause delays. Earlier detection of shortages will mean earlier recoveries. In this Phase 2 project, we will address demand sensing for the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) in Jacksonville, Florida. FRCSE is one of eight fleet readiness centers commissioned by the U.S. Navy and one of only three centers that perform Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) for the F/A-18 tailhook, which will provide the use case for the project.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2021
DOD
NAVY
Information Warfare Protection against Misinformation and Disinformation
Amount: $49,890 Topic: AF211-CSO1
We have built an integrity tool "SIMBA Integrity" (SI) on top of our Python SDK. SI scans a file system for file changes (initial writes or changes), and records their fingerprint on the blockchain. The hash of the file and the hash of the filename/path i
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2021
DOD
USAF
RApidly Deployable CNC AM-MCB (RAD^2 CAM-MCB)
Amount: $49,895 Topic: AF203-CSO3
The Department of Defense (DoD) Additive Manufacturing for Maintenance Operations Working Group (AMMO WG) is chartered to develop an integrated DoD strategic vision and facilitate collaborative tactical implementation of additive manufacturing (AM) techno
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2021
DOD
USAF