The defense industry
runs on relationships.
It shouldn't have to.
I spent years working in defense contracting. One thing kept standing out: everyone was operating with incomplete information about who else was in the market.
A prime contractor in Virginia had no reliable way to know which small businesses near them had the right clearances and capability for an upcoming bid. A subcontractor in Huntsville couldn't easily see which primes were winning work in their domain — or where those primes were performing it. BD teams were making decisions based on personal networks and institutional memory instead of data.
The frustrating part is that most of this information is public. SAM.gov has every registered contractor. USASpending.gov has every contract award. The data exists — it's just scattered, hard to search, and nearly impossible to use in any practical way.
Manifest is the aggregation layer that should have existed already. We pull from SAM.gov, USASpending.gov, and FPDS, normalize everything into a single searchable registry, and keep it updated weekly.
"A prime contractor shouldn't need a personal referral to find the best 8(a) cybersecurity firm in their state. A subcontractor shouldn't be invisible just because they can't afford a BD team."
For prime contractors, Manifest cuts the time it takes to build a teaming strategy. Search by capability, certification, location, and contract history. See every award a potential sub has won — verified against public records, not self-reported.
For subcontractors, Manifest is visibility. Your company is already in the registry, sourced directly from SAM.gov. Claim your profile and add what the public data can't say — your clearances, contract vehicles, past performance highlights, and a direct teaming contact.
Manifest launched as a directory. That's the foundation — getting the data right, making it searchable, and giving every contractor in America a profile worth finding.
From here, the platform grows into the infrastructure layer for how the defense industrial base connects. Opportunity matching when new solicitations drop. A jobs board for cleared talent. Tools that help primes manage their small business subcontracting plans.
The defense contracting world is one of the most important industries in the country. It deserves better tools.
Company name, address, CAGE code, certifications, NAICS codes, and SAM status. Updated weekly.
Federal contract award data — awarding agency, obligated amounts, period of performance, set-aside type, and place of performance.
Federal Procurement Data System — contract type, competition method, and detailed procurement records.
All data is sourced from public government databases. Manifest does not create or modify source records — we normalize and index what is already publicly available.