The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has chosen four companies to develop technology that aims to improve price transparency in the critical materials market as part of the Open Price Exploration for National Security (OPEN) program.

Exiger and S&P Global Commodity Insights have been selected to work on the first technical area of the program, which involves creating a prototype system to estimate input costs for critical materials. In addition, S&P Global Commodity Insights will be joining Charles River Analytics and GE Research in the second technical area to develop a prototype system for forecasting supply and demand for critical commodities.

DARPA’s program manager, Jonathan Doyle, stated that the selected companies will use their expertise in critical materials markets to develop technology that provides accurate and unbiased price, supply, and demand predictions. This technology has the potential to improve decision-making for the U.S. government and investors, and enhance resilience in the face of supply chain disruptions.

The OPEN program was launched in October 2023 in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey with the goal of creating technology that enhances price transparency in critical materials markets for both producers and buyers.