Kharros Now Serves Both Sides of the Government Market, and Wants Introductions

Bootstrapped and cash-flow positive, Santa Cruz startup Kharros is now listed on the Pentagon's CDAO marketplace and running an autonomous BD engine for about 30 government-focused companies.

Selling to the government is slow. Buying for the government is slow too. Kharros is building for both sides of that problem, and the company says it now has a product on each.

Santa Cruz Works audiences may remember Kharros from LaunchPad 2026, where it earned a People's Choice Award for turning product performance into trusted evidence for faster government decisions, helping public-sector buyers evaluate products based on real performance data. Since then, the team has been busy. 

Government side: on the CDAO marketplace

Kharros is now listed on the marketplace run by the Department of Defense's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO). That listing puts Kharros in front of defense buyers looking for vetted digital and AI capabilities. For a young company, it is a meaningful credential and a shorter path to federal customers.

Industry side: an autonomous BD engine

Kharros also recently launched an autonomous government business development engine for companies that sell to the government, or want to. About 30 companies are already using it. The platform helps contractors find and pursue the right opportunities without building a large capture team first.

Not raising, just connecting

Kharros is bootstrapped and cash-flow positive. This is not a fundraising request. What the team needs now is access to the right people on both sides of the market, and the Monterey Bay region has plenty of them.

Who Kharros wants to meet

On the government side, Kharros is looking for people who buy, or teach buying:

  • Contracting and procurement staff at the Naval Postgraduate School, the Presidio of Monterey, or Fort Hunter Liggett

  • NPS acquisition faculty

  • Procurement leaders at the county or city level in Santa Cruz or Monterey

  • Anyone working on California's state procurement modernization

  • Former contracting officers now working in industry

On the industry side, Kharros wants companies looking to win government contracts. If your company sells to government agencies, or wants to start, the platform is built for you.

Get in touch

Kayden Ozdemir, Co-Founder, Kharros
kayden@kharros.com
www.kharros.com
CAGE 1AAK6 | UEI VGWSXL7S1165

The region has a deep bench of defense, education, and public-sector talent. A single well-placed introduction could open a contract, a pilot, or a classroom. If you know someone on this list, make the connection.

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