BREAKING: IRS $118M BPA for Hiring and Training - 3 more companies including Gauntlet AI added to join FedStack and Lantec/Codesmith. More companies coming soon.

This isn't a loan at all no. The way it works is the IRS has earmarked $118M of budget towards a huge bucket of AI initiatives. As they carve out specific projects with specific dollar amounts, the partners will be able to pitch themselves and one or more will take the project. It's possible the $118M won't be used up. In fact, historically, most BPAs do not use up anywhere near the allocated amount. It's there so that it's preserved on paper. But if priorities change or government shuts down or shrinks the IRS, etc... then its possible they pay out $0. So in reality individual companies might get $0. Codesmith said they had a huge vetting process and being selected was a sign of how good Codesmith is, but looking at the growing list of companies... it seems like everyone with their paperwork in order will get a chance and that the real competition is for delivering future results, not for the BPA to begin with.