DHS awards funding to Cambridge startup to develop traveler screening solution

Tamr Government Solutions, based in Cambridge, Mass., has received the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) inaugural Phase 5 award to develop an international traveler screening solution.

The $813,000 funding allotment via the Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) broadens Tamr Government Solutions’ application of the automated solutions developed during the first four phases of the SVIP process to enhance the Open Source Global Travel Assessment System (GTAS) for Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

“We validated the entity resolution capability that Tamr brought to the table through their work on GTAS and shared that knowledge broadly with our DHS operational components,” Anil John, S&T’s SVIP technical director, said. “And now, SVIP’s new Phase 5 will enable CBP to apply this technology in an operational pilot to address their trade entity resolution and procurement optimization use cases.”

CBP uses GTAS to enable foreign border security agencies to screen international air travelers by matching inbound information with existing government data sources. With the automated process, agencies can acquire a more informed view of a person of interest. Tamr’s software is now fully incorporated into the GTAS application.

“This Phase 5 award reinforces the power of collaboration among start-ups, SVIP, and operational components like CBP,” Melissa Oh, S&T’s SVIP managing director, said. “SVIP is excited to have partnered with Tamr to provide this novel solution to the federal government and the commercial sector.”