# Forge Institute

> Forge Institute is a Little Rock nonprofit connecting cybersecurity education, military-to-civilian career transitions, defense startup development, applied research, and collective infrastructure defense. Founded by Lee Watson in 2018, it works with businesses, universities, utilities, and government partners.

- **Founded:** 2018
- **Headquarters:** Little Rock, United States
- **Founders:** Lee Watson (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
- **Products:** Forge Academy, Forge Fellowship, Arkansas Cyber Defense Center, Emerging Threat Center / ET-ISAC, Embers Xcelerator: Grid-Connected Cyber
- **Notable:** Authorized DoD SkillBridge provider since 2021., Launched Arkansas Cyber Defense Center in 2022., Phoenix reports a 56% inaugural-program completion rate as of June 2025, one corporate spin-out, and four SBIR or OTA submissions.

## Products & services

- **Forge Academy** — IT/Cyber Fundamentals bootcamp, currently advertised as 7-8 weeks; 17-week Cyber Bootcamp; custom professional training.
- **Forge Fellowship** — Authorized DoD SkillBridge provider offering work-based learning, Academy access, and civilian career preparation.
- **Arkansas Cyber Defense Center** — Cybersecurity awareness, assessments, and training for municipalities, utilities, and small businesses.
- **Emerging Threat Center / ET-ISAC** — Trusted community for critical-infrastructure threat intelligence, training, and information sharing.
- **Embers Xcelerator: Grid-Connected Cyber** — DOE-funded 12-week pre-accelerator for students, researchers, and entrepreneurs working on grid-related technologies.
- **Phoenix Xcelerator / Project Phoenix** — Defense and aerospace accelerator; current program runs 14 weeks, charges no program fees, and takes no equity.
- **Atomic Anvil** — APEX partnership connecting researchers and small businesses with defense mission partners, technology transfer, prototyping, and procurement guidance.
- **Forge Summit** — National-security and cybersecurity convening; the October 2026 event restricts attendance to U.S. citizens and uses Chatham House Rules.

## Achievements

- Authorized DoD SkillBridge provider since 2021.
- Launched Arkansas Cyber Defense Center in 2022.
- Phoenix reports a 56% inaugural-program completion rate as of June 2025, one corporate spin-out, and four SBIR or OTA submissions.
- Phoenix participant Orion Edge won the 2025 Army xTechDisrupt competition, according to Forge.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — October 2 announcement schedules Project Phoenix Demo Day for October 14, 2026, in North Little Rock.
- **2026-09** — September 29 announcement expands the October 13-14 Forge Summit speaker lineup; attendance is U.S.-citizen-only and sessions use Chatham House Rules.
- **2025-11** — FY2024 Form 990 filed November 17, 2025, reports $2.32 million revenue and $3.68 million expenses.

## Links

- Website: https://www.forge.institute/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/forgeinstitute/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/forge_institute
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forgeinstituteofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ForgeInstitute

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/forge-institute
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-08