A day dedicated to putting technology focused government contractors is coming up soon. The third annual Technology Innovation Demonstration Day (Tech ID Day) will be returning to the Oak Grove Technologies (OGT) Training Center  located at 201 Rushing Road in Hoffman, NC on April 30, 2025 and May 1, 2025. 

An event created by Accel Innovation Corporation (AIC) located in Pinehurst, the event builds on the company’s core mission to bridge the gap between innovative technology and the government. Tech ID Day got its start in 2022, when one year after founding AIC, President and Co-founder and retired Col. Dean Hoffman IV was mulling over one of the greatest challenges in contracting with the government; getting the product in front of the buyers. 

In order to fully utilize government funding, Tech ID Day aims to bring together members of the technology industry, government stakeholders, academia and members of the venture capital community to connect with smaller government contractors who can meet their specific needs. 

One of the standout features for Tech ID Day is the in-person format, allowing attendees to engage with 20 selected companies in a single day at the OGT training center. These companies demonstrate their products live, streamlining the evaluation process. The event eliminates the need for visit requests, multiple rounds of travel and extensive vetting, as all companies are carefully selected, thoroughly vetted, and verified before receiving their invitation to participate. This hands-on approach saves time and ensures that only the best solutions are presented to address the critical needs of warfighters.

“We're picking companies that are not regularly seen by the military. That's one of our criteria,” shared Hoffman. “We're not going to bring a large defense contractor that already has access to  and placement within the government. These are going to be companies that the government's most likely never heard of or seen, but have very unique capabilities that are addressing their problems.”. 

The companies chosen have been selectively invited based on what they have to offer. Six months before the event date, AIC collaborates with specialized warfighting units across the Department of Defense to identify relevant key problem areas and technology gaps. Based on their feedback, AIC defines a broad problem set and searches for the best and most advanced industry solutions. 

“We worked with United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM )to set up a cooperative research and development agreement and, through that, what they call Individual Work Plan, they'll provide us their requirements. So that's the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and the XVIII Airborne Corps, and then in return, we provide them a quarterly update of all the companies we see and the capabilities which they provide. That way they can be able to see where those two unite,” said Hoffman. 

AIC’s 2025 Tech ID Day is focused on 11 key problem areas that the technology and companies on display will be able to address. 

Those 11 problem areas are: 

1. Next Gen Targeting and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)

2. Contested Communications

3. Contested Sustainment

4. Protection

5. Medical/Brain Health

6. Cyber Protection for Aviation Assets

7. Multi-Domain Battle Management Team (MBMT)

8. Situational Awareness (SA) / Battlefield Awareness

9. Information Advantage/ Information Operations

10. Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) Interoperability

11. Unmanned Systems/Robotics/Artificial Intelligence

According to Hoffman, identifying specific problem areas to be addressed can open the door for companies to provide a number of different solutions using their unique technology. 

“Instead of telling me you need a laser to take out a camera, if you dig down into that, what they're really looking for is, ‘How can I not be seen or detected when traveling in front of a camera?’ And now, that opens up a whole can of opportunities. So now that could be just cutting the wire, that could be a cloak, that could be an alternative face mask, there's so many other solutions and opportunities there. What we try to do is take their more specific requirements and expand them enough and make them unclassified so that they can be pushed out to industry and we get some very unique, innovative solutions,” shared Hoffman. 

The two day event will feature two main events: The Dual Use Capital Call taking place on April 30 from 1. p.m. - 4 p.m., and the Demonstration Day taking place on May 1 from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.  

The Dual Use Capital Call is a focused gathering that brings together industry leaders, academia, entrepreneurs, government innovation stakeholders, and capital providers across various stages. This series is designed to connect top-tier, trusted capital providers, disruptive technology innovators, and government representatives to identify and explore best-in-class opportunities for collaboration.

Each session is attended by 50 to 100 participants, including members of government, the military, and trusted capital providers from the private equity and venture capital community. With an investment sweet spot of $1-5 million, these calls foster strategic partnerships and funding opportunities for dual-use technologies that address both mission-critical and commercial needs.

And of course the advanced technology requires an advanced field to be tested in. AIC has once again partnered with OGT who is hosting the event at its 300 acre facility in Hoffman, NC. 

With 20 years of experience supporting basic training and instruction activities in North Carolina, OGT offers a multitude of capabilities that cover the full spectrum of prototyping, testing, and training requirements, including air, ground and subterranean operations. 

“It's what the military calls a multi-domain environment, meaning we're able to replicate a lot of the operational environments soldiers, sailors, airmen will encounter during their missions,” shared OGT CEO and retired Col. Richard Haggerty. “We have a subterranean complex, we have land, we have buildings and mock villages, we have a cyber complex, we have a lab, rappel tower. You could fly drones, you could land helicopters, shoot houses and small arms ranges. If you can imagine, [it’s] an Olympic training complex for the military, or the Department of Defense.” 

Registration for the event is still open. You can find out more about Accel Innovation Corporation and register for Tech ID Day here and watch a full Tech ID Day 2025 promo here. 

You can also learn about Oak Grove Technologies on their website here and more on their work with drones here.