This article was originally published on LinkedIn on 12 February 2026.
AI Help Us Jump Through the Funding Tricks
The purpose of this article is to share with Australian manufacturers and suppliers how AI is being used to move through the rapid changes to US trade — especially around defence (or the US spelling “defense”).
Today (Thu 12 Feb 2026), I am sharing my opinion and editorial on how my team uses AI to match tier 2 and tier 2 Australian businesses with US work. The tips may be especially helpful to Western Australian businesses who want to know where to start with the US programs.
The reason I emphasise “today” is the US government’s rapidly changing policies change faster than a company can plan and implement tooling, source materials, and logistics.
The catch?
“Today” is where AI comes in.
The prompting and review of AI needs to be led by a person with experience in US government programs. AI can quickly misinterpret multiple sources and mistakenly relate unrelated-documents.
Currently, my Chicagoland colleagues at SelectGlobal are working with Outpace Solutions and AI research to identify US-Australian business opportunities.
Rob Fekete from Outpace Solutions advises US and global suppliers. Rob provides “Decision as a Service” (DaaS) leveraging AI with his government contract and security experience from the US Air Force.
Within the last few months, Rob has identified US policy changes that have made the US Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) the most practical avenue for US-Australian defence business partners to quickly supply commercial products and services. The US CSO facilitates business-to-business style contracts as opposed to the rigid US federal contracting rules of the past.
A US partner business is required for most tier 2 and tier 3 Australian businesses to tap into the US CSO contracts. This is where SelectGlobal comes in. michael edgar, NCARB has decades of relationships with international businesses and municipalities in Chicagoland.
In previous decades, Michael matched non-US businesses with incentives to open facilities and access funding in the Greater Chicago Area (Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, …). As the US government restricted international visas and trade, Michael tapped into AI to identify the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding that could replace regional real estate consulting and keep Chicagoland businesses running.
The change from previous decades of US Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is that the US business has the responsibility of processing the SBIR funding. Previously, the global (non-US business) completed the FDI process for international banking, visas, non-US funding requirements, and regional US incentives.
In the new scenario, why does AI matter?
What’s really impressive about AI for US foreign trade?
Rob Fekete has the experience with US government contracts to know how to prompt AI and to recognise when the AI results are inaccurate. He’s been pleasantly surprised by the level of accuracy his models maintain over time.
Rob and Michael have even been amused at how their experiments with semi-autonomous AI has alerted them to official changes to the US and Australian defense (or the Australian spelling “defence”) projects they are helping develop. And, yes we’ve had a few humorous results from our AI Decision as a Service (Daas), but all with the caring oversight of experienced international trade consultants.
Using AI to monitor the frequent US policy changes, Rob Fekete and Michael identified a stable process for Australian and US companies to be CSO partners. The SelectGlobal consultants have verified the partnerships can fit the US SBIR research and development requirements.
AI has been used to brainstorm practical scenarios for a larger global network of manufacturing, warehouse, and logistics companies doing business with US businesses.
Where does this leave you, the Australian business?
Rob and Michael can work faster and with lower margins on US-Australian tier 2 and tier 3 contracts. You can work directly with them and quickly initiate partnership work with US businesses.
My lead generation work for SelectGlobal is winding down. SelectGlobal hasn’t needed my traditional business analytics and technical writing work. Rob’s experience, Michael’s Chicago area contacts, and AI have been faster and more nimble than the traditional elicitation and documentation cycles
However, I’m not stopping work because AI “scooped” me on this gig. Since working with Rob and Michael, I have picked up AI skills to supplement the on-site projects that need me. Contact me if you’d like me to match your company with Rob and Michael and to partner with US companies.
Between all of us, let’s keep the AI conversation going!
Shauna McGee Kinney 