Inside DARPA Funding

I recently attended a fantastic fireside chat with Stephanie Tompkins, Director of DARPA, where she shared invaluable insights into their unique, high-risk approach to fostering innovation and collaboration.

For founders and researchers eyeing DARPA funding, understanding their bold, risk-driven strategy—and knowing how to navigate the process—can make all the difference in getting funded.

Here are the key takeaways that stood out to me:

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1) DARPA Isn’t for Everyone, but They Are Making it Easier for the Right People to Connect

DARPA’s bold, risk-driven strategy isn't a fit for everyone. They want groundbreaking ideas with the potential to redefine fields and solve national security challenges.

When I first started grant writing and editing (the years are not necessary here), I was told that researchers had to attend the annual DARPA Tech Conference to engage directly with DARPA Program Managers (PMs) and learn about their current interests and funding opportunities. Without that step, most researchers had a snowball's chance in hell of receiving funding.

The spirit of that sentiment remains—before applying, you need to truly understand DARPA’s mission and its appetite for high-risk, high-reward ideas. And you do that by talking directly to a PM.

Recognizing that it’s hard to change the world without a steady flow of ideas, DARPA Connect was established in 2022 as the ‘front door’. It aims to lower the intimidation factor and make it easier for those aligned with DARPA’s mission to learn more and explore opportunities and connect with DARPA PMs. Dr. Tompkins described it as an “all-purpose help desk”. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

2) When Meeting with a PM, Do More Listening Than Telling

Each DARPA PM only serves for about four years, meaning they have a relatively short window of time to launch bold, transformative projects with astronomical impact. 

Rather than delivering a lengthy pitch, start with questions that can help you understand their perspective—what keeps them up at night, and what problems they are eager to solve? This approach builds a richer, more productive conversation and shows you are genuinely interested in aligning with DARPA's goals. 

If you think DARPA funding may be a good fit, the PM’s insights are gold. Don’t waste the opportunity.  

3) Many Grant Applicants Think Too Small

DARPA is the research arm of the Department of Defense. Hence, its mission is to prevent technological surprises that could pose a threat to national security. 

DARPA will not fund incremental research or modest advances. As Dr. Tompkins emphasized, the most successful proposals focus on big, bold goals that can change the world and eliminate entire sets of problems. They are looking for high-risk, high-reward projects that have the potential to redefine what’s possible and create new fields or approaches with a significant impact on national security and beyond.

If you're thinking about applying to DARPA, you need to consider how your idea could fundamentally change the landscape of a field or even create a brand-new one. But this just scratches the surface—there’s a bigger conversation to be had about how innovators can break away from conventional thinking to meet DARPA’s hunger for bold, transformative ideas. (I’ll dive deeper into this in a future article, so stay tuned!)

4) DARPA Only Has a Handful of Challenges at Any Given Time

DARPA strongly values its ability to stay nimble, allowing it to pivot quickly and address emerging threats and opportunities as they arise. Unlike other agencies that run numerous funding programs, DARPA is highly selective. At any given time, they focus on just a few active challenges, each designed to tackle specific, high-impact problems.

For example, the AI Cyber Challenge, developed in collaboration with ARPA-H, is a recent initiative offering a $4M prize to develop automated cyber reasoning systems that can protect critical national infrastructure like water and electricity (the winner will be announced at DEFCON next year). This is a clear sign of DARPA's willingness to try new approaches, like prize-based competitions, to spur innovation in areas critical to national security. 

But because DARPA keeps its opportunities so focused, it’s crucial to stay updated on their current and upcoming challenges to ensure your proposal aligns with their evolving priorities. Getting in on the right challenge at the right time can make all the difference.

5) You Can Visit DARPA!

While DARPA’s building in the DC area might not look particularly exciting, the opportunity to visit and engage with a PM in person is invaluable. DARPA runs a lean operation with no on-site labs—most of their funding goes directly to researchers and external projects, allowing them to focus on transformative innovation.

If you’re ever in the DC area, consider reaching out to a PM to see if they’d be open to meeting in person. This face-to-face interaction is a rare chance to hear directly from the people shaping DARPA's funding priorities and to understand firsthand how your work might align with their mission. As emphasized above, be ready to do a lot of listening.

Watch the full RECORDING of the fireside chat with Stephanie Tompkins, Director of DARPA, on DARPA Connect.