BigBear.ai completes $250M Ask Sage purchase

McLean government tech contractor BigBear.ai announced Wednesday that it has completed its $250 million acquisition of Ask Sage, a Warren County-based company known for its generative artificial intelligence platform designed for defense and national security agencies, as well as other highly regulated sectors.

BigBear.ai previously announced its intention to acquire Ask Sage in November. Ask Sage supports more than 100,000 users across 16,000 government teams and hundreds of commercial organizations, according to BigBear.ai.

“Completing the acquisition of Ask Sage marks a significant milestone for BigBear.ai and accelerates our vision of delivering mission-ready AI that customers can deploy with confidence,” BigBear.ai CEO Kevin McAleenan said in a statement. “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.”

McAleenan previously said that as part of the merger, Ask Sage founder and CEO Nicolas Chaillan will join BigBear.ai as its chief technology officer. Nearly 30 employees will join BigBear.ai from Ask Sage, bringing BigBear.ai’s headcount to around 650 employees.

BigBear.ai says the acquisition of Ask Sage expands its AI portfolio to include secure generative AI workflows and expects it to help grow its business across national security, defense, intelligence and regulated commercial markets.

“By bringing Ask Sage into the BigBear.ai family, we are responding directly to what our customers have been asking for — AI that is not only powerful, but trusted, scalable and ready for real-world missions,” McAleenan said in a statement.

BigBear.ai, which provides artificial intelligence technology and services for defense, national security and critical infrastructure, earned $158.2 million in 2024 revenue, an increase from $155.2 million in 2023.