Automated Due Diligence Capability that Uses Patent Analysis to Identify SBIR/STTR Persons Connected to Chinese Entities

Under this proposed Phase II effort, BlueFoot will conduct Research and Development to create a new automated due diligence capability to identify SBIR/STTR persons connected to Chinese entities, by using data science to analyze patent, corporate, and SBIR/STTR data. BlueFoot’s new automated due diligence capability will identify, for example, a SBIR/STTR awardee who BlueFoot discovered may have connections to multiple Chinese entities, despite receiving over $31 million in SBIR/STTR awards from various agencies across the government.  In particular, this new capability will use data science to aggregate and correlate patent data with corporate and SBIR/STTR data in order to identify relationships between persons associated with SBIR/STTR companies and Chinese entities.  BlueFoot’s proposed due diligence capability can help protect Air Force investment in defense critical technologies by limiting support of persons who engage with Chinese entities or file patents on their behalf. Identifying and addressing these persons is critical to the international competitiveness of the United States within the science and technology ecosystem. This technological capability will also help fulfill due diligence requirements recently codified in S.4900 (SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022) which require the establishment of a “due diligence program to assess security risks” which must use a “risk-based approach” that includes “patent analysis” and “financial ties and obligations… of the small business concern to a foreign country, foreign person, or foreign entity.”