Government contracting data, powered for the first time by Pryzm, is now a direct input into the NatSec100 methodology. The result is a more granular and honest picture of which companies are not just building, but actually selling and delivering within the federal ecosystem. Through the end of CY25, The 2026 NatSec100 cohort received $4.3B in USG obligations in FY2025, compared to $3B for the 2025 cohort. This difference signals a more accurate and stronger Top 100 rankings in the 2026 report. The 2026 cohort was selected in part for demonstrated government traction. SVDG’s methodology got better at finding the companies that matter most to the mission.
The OTA Shift Is Now Structural
The most dramatic trend in the contracting data is not the growth in total obligations but the transformation of how those obligations are structured. Other Transaction Authority use grew from 18.1% of the contract mix in FY2020 to 30.6% in FY2025. Over the same period, subcontracts and SBIR/STTR awards registered a gradual decline to 8.9% and 17.2% respectively, reflecting the maturation of the ecosystem. Prime contracts held relatively steady at 47.4%. What this tells us is that the ecosystem has made a structural shift: NatSec100 companies are increasingly engaging the government directly, as prime contractors and through OTAs, rather than filtering through traditional defense primes as subcontractors.
The Air Force Leads — But the Navy Is the Story
Within the Department of War, the Air Force has consistently led obligations to NatSec100 companies, holding 40% of DoW spend in both FY2024 and FY2025. SOCOM, long an early adopter of non-traditional technology, has remained a meaningful buyer. But the most significant shift in the FY2025 data is the Navy, which grew from a minimal presence in prior years to 16% of DoW obligations — the largest single-service shift in four years of NatSec100 reporting. That movement almost certainly reflects the maritime autonomy companies, led by Saronic in the 2026 cohort, that are beginning to win meaningful program dollars from a service that has historically been slower to engage non-traditional vendors.
The Civilian Agency Signal Is New and Consequential
Outside the Department of War, NASA remains the dominant non-defense buyer of NatSec100 technology, accounting for 81% of non-DoW obligations in FY2025, driven almost entirely by the space companies in the cohort. Customs and Border Protection is a consistent secondary buyer. But the more important story is what is happening at the margin. DHS, Treasury, and the Department of Energy are all on pace in early FY2026 data to more than double their spending on NatSec100 companies. DHS spending has surpassed $400 million, a trajectory that would have seemed implausible three years ago. Treasury and Energy are moving from near-zero baselines to meaningful spend for the first time. This is a direct reflection of empowerment of these agencies as national security actors, and the geoeconomic framing that treats financial intelligence, energy resilience, and border technology as warfighting capabilities. The civilian agency expansion is the earliest visible evidence that the Economic Defense Unit's theory of national security is translating into actual procurement dollars.
The Gap Persists, But the Trend Is Right
Total USG obligations remain a fraction of total private investment at $16B against $304.1B in cumulative capital raised. Even at $4.3B in FY2025 annual obligations, the government is buying around 5% of what the private market has invested in.
“Govini is leading the way in accelerating mission readiness in the Department of War and across the USG. Our climb into the top tier of SVDG’s NatSec 100 reflects the incredible demand for, and adoption of, our software platform. Ark remains the first and only product purpose-built to connect the critical functions of major defense program acquisition, from early concepts through production, sustainment, logistics, and modernization, and it is the market-leading, AI-native platform in this space today.
By moving the Department from overly complex, slow, manual processes in each of these warfighting functions to AI-native, data-rich, modern software that functions at the speed of the mission, Govini is closing the gap between the factory and the fight. This concept is at the heart of the current acquisition transformation and it is not just needed—it is desperately overdue. The recognition that acquisition, sustainment, logistics, and maintenance are core warfighting functions gives them much-needed prioritization in a geo-strategic environment where demand for American military power continues to increase. The United States must increase its pace of military modernization to deliver new systems faster and, in the meantime, improve sustainment and maintenance to make today’s fleet more ready.”