Universal Cell Culture Platform for Rapid Establishment of Species-Agnostic Cell Lines and Autonomous Culture Operations

Description: Published August 5, 2026, this Phase II SBIR topic seeks a generalizable universal, species-agnostic cell-culture platform combining biological methods for establishing cells from arbitrary vertebrate and invertebrate species with autonomous closed-loop optimization and reproducible protocols. Proposers must address cross-species universality and autonomous culture automation, while gene-drive/genetic-biocontrol enablement is encouraged; any such work must remain in vitro/cellular, with no environmental release or gene-drive-competent whole organism. The official schedule lists an August 26, 2026 open date and a September 23, 2026 12:00 PM ET close, and DARPA's associated materials route selected proposers through contracting resources rather than presenting the opportunity as a grant announcement.