BigBear.ai (NYSE: BBAI) has finalised its $250 million acquisition of Ask Sage, completing a deal that strengthens its position in secure, mission-ready artificial intelligence for government and regulated industries.
The all-cash transaction was closed in January 2026, following a definitive agreement announced alongside BigBear.ai’s third-quarter 2025 financial results. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, BigBear.ai develops AI systems designed for operational deployment across national security, defence and intelligence missions.
Ask Sage, founded in 2023 and based in Arlington, Virginia, brings to the group a rapidly scaling generative AI platform built specifically for high-security and compliance-driven environments. Its technology supports secure AI deployment, orchestration and agent-based workflows, and is already in use by more than 100,000 users across approximately 16,000 government teams, as well as hundreds of commercial organisations.
The acquisition adds mature generative AI capabilities to BigBear.ai’s existing mission software and data platforms. The combined offering is intended to provide government and enterprise customers with an integrated AI environment that can be deployed in production while preserving control over data sovereignty, security and model governance—areas of growing concern as AI adoption accelerates.
Prior to the acquisition, Ask Sage had raised $17 million in external funding. Its latest Series A round was completed in December 2024 and led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Mucker Capital. The company said the capital was earmarked to expand its generative AI platform for public-sector and regulated industry use cases, a focus that aligns closely with BigBear.ai’s core markets.
BigBear.ai Chief Executive Officer Kevin McAleenan described the deal as a strategic step toward meeting customer demand for AI systems that are both powerful and trusted. He said, “Ask Sage is already operating at scale in mission-critical environments, and together we are bringing to market a secure, integrated AI platform that unifies data, software, and mission services in one place.”
BigBear.ai said the acquisition reinforces its strategy of moving AI from pilot programmes into scalable, operational use. The company expects the deal to support continued growth across national security, defence, intelligence and regulated commercial sectors, as demand rises for AI platforms built to operate under strict security and compliance requirements.
