summary:
- BigBear.ai acquires Ask Sage for $250 million, expected to close in late 2025 or early 2026
- Ask Sage serves over 100,000 users in government and defense sectors
- Nicolas Chaillan, Founder of Ask Sage, joins BigBear.ai as Chief Technology Officer
McLean government technology contractor BigBear.ai announced this week that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ask Sage, a fast-growing secure generative artificial intelligence platform focused on defense and national security, for $250 million.
BigBear.ai made the announcement as part of its earnings report released on Monday. The company expects the acquisition to close late in the fourth quarter of this year or early in the first quarter of 2026.
Headquartered in Warren County, Ask Sage’s AI capabilities are specifically designed for defense and national security agencies and other highly regulated sectors. According to BigBear.ai CEO Kevin McAleenan, Ask Sage supports more than 100,000 users in 16,000 government teams across hundreds of commercial enterprises.
“By integrating Ask Sage and BigBear.ai, we are creating what the market has been asking for: a secure, unified AI platform that brings together software, data, and mission services in one place,” McAleenan said in a statement. “Despite the delays caused by the government shutdown, we believe the potential for new business in border security and defense remains strong and we look forward to seeing these opportunities materialize in contracts next year, including accelerated spending through the One Big Beautiful Bill.”
McAleenan said during the conference call that the Ask Sage acquisition provides BigBear.ai with a proven, secure and model-agnostic generative AI platform, meaning the platform can work with a variety of AI models rather than being tied to a single vendor.
McAleenan also revealed during the earnings call that as part of the merger, Ask Sage founder and CEO Nicolas Chaillan will join BigBear.ai as chief technology officer.
In this role, Chaillan will focus on strengthening BigBear.ai’s broad portfolio and increasing the efficiency and speed of product development and innovation.
“Nick is one of the most respected voices in the field of secure mission-grade AI, a former chief software officer in both the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, and someone who has founded multiple companies over the past 25 years,” McAleenan said in a conference call. “He has proven that he can build technology that the Department of Defense actually uses quickly and iteratively to support critical missions.”
BigBear.ai did not say how many employees the merger would add, and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
BigBear.ai, headquartered in McLean, is a federal contractor that provides artificial intelligence technology and services for defense, national security, and critical infrastructure. The company had revenue of $158.2 million in 2024, up from $155.2 million in 2023.
The company disclosed in its third quarter report that year-over-year revenue decreased 20% to $33.1 million from $41.5 million in the third quarter of 2024, primarily due to lower volumes in certain Army programs. However, its net income for the third quarter of this year was $2.5 million, and its net loss for the third quarter of 2024 was $15.1 million. The company expects to generate revenue of $125 million to $140 million for the full year.
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