AI Model Hosting and Inference

2026-11-03

REVISED SOURCES SOUGHT ( Revisions underlined ) SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICENotice ID : NIST - CAISI - 26 - SS01Title : AI Model Hosting and InferenceGENERAL INFORMATIONThis is aSources Sought Notice ONLYand is issued formarket research purposesin accordance withFAR Part 10 . This notice doesnotconstitute a Request for Proposal ( RFP ), Request for Quotation ( RFQ ), Invitation for Bids ( IFB ), or any commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract . The National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) will not pay for any information submitted in response to this notice . Submission of information is voluntary and will not result in any obligation on the part of the Government . NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIMERequests for solicitation documents will not receive a response . Respondents shall clearly mark any proprietary or restricted information . In the absence of such markings , NIST will assume unlimited rights to all technical data submitted . CONTRACTING OFFICENational Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) Acquisition Management Division100 Bureau Drive , Mail Stop 1640Gaithersburg , MD 20899 - 1640NAICS CODENAICS : 518210 – Computing Infrastructure Providers , Data Processing , Web Hosting , and Other Related ServicesSmall Business Size Standard :$ 40 MillionBACKGROUNDPresident Trump ’ s AI Action Plan tasks CAISI with evaluating frontier AI systems , including open weight AI models , for national security risks . In order to deliver on this tasking , CAISI requires access to open - weight AI model hosting and inference services . DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREDSERVICESNIST is seeking information from contractors capable of providing open - weight AI model hosting and inference services . Requirements include , but are not limited to , the following : Quick - turn hosting : Support newly - released models within the first few business days after they become available . Accurate inference : Configured for accurate inference , including but not limited to reasoning and tool calling performance . The service must have a validation checklist in place to test that models are served correctly . Automatic and rapid inference scaling : Support rapid scaling of inference usage , without requiring that CAISI reserve all needed inference capacity in advanceincluding ability to support high amounts of throughput ( input and output tokens ) and high concurrency ( number of inference requests at a time ). Hosting access to many models : Host a large selection of models by default and be able to quickly host open - weight models on - demand for CAISI . Data retention : Not retain inference data . Reliability : High uptime for its inference services . Cost : Hosting and inference for models at a price that is in line with typical industry pricing . Raw model prompting : Provide CAISI with unfiltered API access for raw model prompting ( model access without a chat template ). Direct Compute Accelerator Access : The ability to access GPUs directly either in a bare - metal or passthrough configuration . This access should allow the execution of arbitrary workloads that require GPU acceleration . Security : NIST SP 800 - 171 Rev 3 (“ Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations ”) security controls implemented for all system components involved in storing , processing , or transmitting Controlled Unclassified Information ( CUI ). Cryptographic operations executed by FIPS 140 - 3 validated cryptographic modules . Authentication capabilities implement phishing - resistant MFA . All physical infrastructure , data storage , and processing activities restricted exclusively to the United States . Sources with the following certifications are preferred : FedRAMP , SOC 2 Type 2 , CMMC Level 2MARKET RESEARCH OBJECTIVESThe purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to : Identify responsible sources capable of performing the required servicesDetermine the availability ofsmall businesses , including socio - economic categoriesAssess industry experience with AI model hosting and inference servicesInformation received may be used to support acquisition strategy decisions , including potential set - aside determinations . ANTICIPATED ACQUISITIONNIST anticipates issuing aRequest for Quotation ( RFQ ) in thesecond quarter of FY 2026 , with contract award anticipated no later than thethird quarter of FY 2026 . RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONSInterested parties shall submit a written capability statement addressing the following : Company name , address , Unique Entity Identifier ( UEI ) number , CAGE code , and point - of - contact informationBusiness size and socio - economic status ( if applicable ) Description of company capabilities relevant to the services described aboveDescription of prior experience performing similar servicesIdentification of applicable contract vehicles ( e . g ., GSA FSS , GWACs ), including contract numbersAny other information the Government should consider for market research purposesSUBMISSION REQUIREMENTSSubmission Method : EmailEmail Address : donald . graham @ nist . govFormat : Microsoft WordPage Limit : 12 pages maximumFont : Times New Roman , 11 - pointPaper Size : 8 . 5 x 11 inchesMargins : Minimum 1 inch on all sidesHeader and footer information that does not contain evaluative content may be included within the margin space .

Maryland

2026-05-02