Domino Secures APFIT Award for Advanced AI Amid DoD's Renewed Urgency on Software Adoption

Domino to spearhead AI capability for the U.S. Navy's Project AMMO by delivering a world-class MLOps pipeline for Uncrewed Undersea Vehicles

SAN FRANCISCO, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Domino Data Lab, provider of the leading Enterprise AI Platform trusted by the largest AI-driven enterprises and major government agencies, today announced its selection for an award from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)'s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program. By procuring it as a long-term solution, DoD makes Domino's platform the backbone of an MLOps pipeline and infrastructure to support the development and deployment of rapid undersea mine detection for the Navy.

This $16.5 million award comes amid renewed urgency for adopting software, led by a March memo directing DoD to rapidly identify and transition vital software-based capabilities with the highest operational impact to warfighters.

"The Department of Defense (DoD) has been slow to recognize that software-defined warfare is not a future construct, but the reality we find ourselves operating in today," said U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the March 6, 2025 memorandum on modern software acquisition. "Software is at the core of every weapon and supporting system we field to remain the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world."

As the prime vendor for this APFIT Award, Domino Data Lab will leverage its deep expertise in responsibly scaling AI to manage the integration and deployment of AI tooling and infrastructure among four specialized vendors previously deployed across the U.S. Navy and Defense Innovation Unit Project Accelerated Machine Learning for Maritime Operations (AMMO).

Project AMMO delivers more accurate imagery and sonar-based intelligence that can be trusted and actioned by naval decision-makers for next-generation warfare advantage by automating critical aspects of deployment, monitoring, and governance. This automation reduces the time needed for ML model updates from six months to a few days - a 97% decrease. Notably, this produced a Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) toolset that ensures warfighters have an enduring capability to adapt and evolve at the speed of tactical relevance.

"Software is essential to maintaining U.S. military superiority, and we're honored that the DoD trusts Domino to rapidly and securely deliver AI-powered solutions for the future of warfare," said Joel Meyer, President of Public Sector, Domino Data Lab and an industry commissioner on the Atlantic Council's Commission on Software-Defined Warfare. "Warfighters must rapidly access the latest software to stay ahead, and Domino's platform serves as the proven backbone of Project AMMO's advanced MLOps pipeline. This APFIT award enables the Navy to quickly scale that success, marking a milestone in AI software acquisition and the advancement of software-defined warfare."

"Our warfighters deserve the most advanced, reliable, rapidly adaptable AI capabilities faster; they deserve information superiority," said Justin Fanelli, Chief Technology Officer, Department of the Navy. "With Project AMMO, this team showed how a modern, scalable commercial AI pipeline is a force multiplier for decision-makers to trust and act on field-generated intelligence. This award demonstrates how APFIT is an invaluable tool allowing us to scale what is working and shows the importance of commercial innovation in delivering operational AI for better outcomes sooner in national defense."

Domino and its partners will continue to focus on delivering a single platform to deploy models faster with built-in observability and reduced time-to-impact to distributed teams like those across Project AMMO. Users can leverage the best open-source and commercial tools of their choice in a highly governed way, on one platform, to generate and analyze field-generated insights, which are expected to significantly enhance operational capabilities and strategic readiness.

"We applaud the Navy for choosing commercial industry to ensure we evolve AI systems faster than adversaries can adapt on the battlefield," said Domino Chief Operating Officer Thomas Robinson. "Domino is also grateful for Congressional support to fund this program, for stewardship by the Defense Innovation Unit and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and we thank the Navy for being great partners. This award advances the establishment of AI Primes who can scale advanced AI capabilities that are proven to serve warfighter demands."

Building on this success, Domino continues to make significant investments to better serve the public sector. The company is actively pursuing a Facility Clearance and will soon be deployed in Impact Level 6 environments with the U.S. Department of Defense, enabling it to support high-stakes, sensitive national security use cases. Domino has also achieved FIPS 140-2 compliance, meeting cryptographic security standards to safeguard sensitive federal data. These efforts solidify Domino's role as a trusted partner for government agencies and defense initiatives.

Additional Resources

    --  Read more about Domino's Enterprise AI Platform and Public Sector
        solutions.
    --  Read Domino's case study on its work with the U.S. Navy and DIU.
    --  Download a white paper on empowering mission-driven AI for the DoD.
    --  See our latest blog posts to learn more about Domino's capabilities to
        quickly, economically, and responsibly build and operate enterprise AI.
    --  Follow Domino on LinkedIn and Twitter/X.

About Domino Data Lab
Domino Data Lab empowers the largest AI-driven enterprises and major government agencies to build and operate AI at scale. Domino's Enterprise AI Platform provides an integrated experience encompassing model development, MLOps, collaboration, and governance. With Domino, global enterprises can develop better medicines, grow more productive crops, develop more competitive products, and more. Founded in 2013, Domino is backed by Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, NVIDIA, Snowflake, and other leading investors. Learn more at domino.ai.

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SOURCE Domino Data Lab