Deep Blue Observer Maritime Domain Awareness Joint Challenge

Inviting global companies, startups, and academia to address challenges in the areas of maritime security.

The challenge is open to all Singapore, U.S. and global-based companies, startups and academia with innovative ideas to solve the published challenge statement.

Please take a look at the challenge statement to view more details.

Successful participants may be awarded a contract by Cap Vista or the U.S. Department of War Innovation Unit, or both to demonstrate their technology in a short trial.

We aim to scale the solution quickly if the trial demonstrates success and good potential.

You may submit your proposals by clicking on the "Apply" button or sign up and log in to apply. Your solution should fit the requirements stated in the brief for the challenge statement.

Applications will open from 11 - 25 September 2026, Friday, 11:59hrs (SGT/GMT+8) / 24 September 2026, Thursday, 23:59 (ET).

You will be able to make edits to your submitted proposals before the submission deadline.

Please remember to click on the "Submit" button when you have completed drafting your proposal and are ready to proceed with the submission. Kindly note that any edits made after submission will automatically revert the application’s status to unsubmitted, requiring you to submit again.


Interested participants may apply to either of the challenge sites to submit proposals for the challenge statement. Applicants are encouraged to apply to the site aligned with their preferred form of award, although proposals will be shared between both organisers and awards may be provided by one or both parties.

  • Cap Vista (Singapore): Successful providers may be awarded project trials in the form of a contract based on the submitted proposal.
  • U.S. Department of War Innovation Unit (DIU): Successful providers will receive prize money of up to US$50,000 each for a live demonstration, and may be awarded a prototyping contract for subsequent phases.

Providers may pursue opportunities in both Singapore and the U.S. by submitting separate, independent applications through each country's respective portal.

To apply to the U.S. DIU challenge site, please click here.

You will receive an email confirmation upon successful registration for the Challenge. If you have not received it, please reach out to contactus@capvista.com.sg.

All submissions will be assessed based on the following criteria:

● Innovativeness and Relevance

  • How innovative is the solution?
  • Can the solution address challenges effectively?

● Tech Feasibility and Implementation

  • Is the solution feasible and ready for implementation?
  • How easy is the solution able to scale for large-scale deployment in a cost-effective manner?
  • Has the solution been adopted commercially?

Some tips to increase your chances of a favourable evaluation:

    • Be clear in explaining how your proposal addresses problems, including how your solution is superior compared to existing solutions.
    • Share clearly how you would be able to demonstrate your technology solution via a trial, including metrics to be measured and any resources required from the Organisers.
    • Share any past experiments, demonstrations, trials, or deployment conducted to support the viability of your technology solution.

The U.S. Department of War Innovation Unit (DIU) judging criteria is separate and can be found in the open call announcement. The criteria are as follows:

● Technical Viability & Alignment: Degree to which the solution meets the Technical Capabilities and individual.

● Team & Company Viability: Demonstrated capability, current production rates, and corporate expertise to successfully develop, deliver, and sustain the solution.

● Cost & Scalability: Feasibility of proposed pricing ranges to ensure user access to tools and applications (i.e. licensing cost & data access model).

● Quality of Proposal: Clear, thorough explanation of how the technology fills current capability gaps and enhances operational effectiveness.

Please read full details on the U.S. DIU Innovation Challenge website.

Per our evaluation criteria, solutions that are feasible and ready for implementation will be more favourably evaluated.

All background intellectual property (IP) rights are owned by creators. For more information, please refer to the terms and conditions.

The protection of intellectual property (IP) rights in the submitted solution is the sole responsibility of the applicant. Cap Vista would not request for a stake in the IP(s) of the solution submitted for the challenge. Please see the section on Intellectual Property in the terms and conditions.

Yes, withholding tax is applicable for payments by Cap Vista to non-resident companies and individuals under the Singapore Income Tax Act. A non-resident company or individual may be exempted from withholding tax, provided conditions under Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements between Singapore and the non-resident company or individual country are met.


Please check out the document that we have prepared here for information on withholding tax and related links.

Selected companies, startups and academia will be notified via email within 60 days from the closing date of submissions.

Shortlisted companies, startups and academia will be invited to elaborate on their solutions and clarify any queries from a panel comprising members from the Organisers, to be determined by the Organisers’ sole discretion.

Successful participants will be awarded to perform proof-of-concept, experiment or demonstration.

You will be pitching to a panel of challenge statement owners and technical experts selected by the Organisers. Any changes to the panel shall be determined by the Organisers' discretion.

Shortlisted companies, startups and academia should try to attend the given slot to present at the pitching event to avoid any delays in the contract award.

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