latakoo awarded $1.2M United States Air Force contract

Leading mission-critical cloud video workflow company selected for Phase II AFWERX military grant

latakoo, the mission critical cloud video workflow company, announces it has been selected by the United States Air Force under its AFWERX (Air Force Work Project) military grant program for an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Direct-to-Phase II contract in the amount of $1.2 Million. The contract is focused on Content Dependent Enhancement During Live Video Transmissions to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).

The latakoo team was previously awarded two AFWERX Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grants for exploring data workflow needs within the DAF. Cloud native latakoo enables organizations to move quality video and other data from inhospitable locations all over the world to any destination or system despite challenges of internet bandwidth, the video itself and hardware resources.

Powered by its multi-patented Generative Video technology, latakoo’s end-to-end video workflow platform will enable rapid and secure transmission of data across DAF’s networks, empowering personnel to make informed decisions in real time using the best possible visual quality for the available bandwidth, while allowing after-the-fact analysis of full quality media. The technology has the potential to significantly reduce latency in data sharing, enhance situational awareness and improve collaboration among DAF units, all of which are paramount to maintaining operational superiority.

“As a company focused on innovation in the video and broadcast industry, being chosen by AFWERX for this SBIR Direct-to-Phase II contract is quite meaningful,” said latakoo President and Co-Founder, Jade Kurian. “Our team is dedicated to leveraging our expertise in real-time data streaming to develop a solution that directly addresses the unique challenges faced by the United States Air Force. We are excited about the opportunity to contribute to the advancement of critical mission capabilities.”

“What we learn from deploying this technology for the Air Force will also directly benefit our current customer base of broadcasters and production companies,” said CEO and Co-Founder, Paul Adrian. “This commitment from the Air Force helps us finalize the commercialization of cutting-edge technology invented by latakoo that will improve the transfer and distribution of video and big data for many industries.”

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 8/16/2023, latakoo will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

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.

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