Shubhi Mishra, the Indian American founder and CEO of the artificial intelligence and data-driven company Raft, has won the 2025 Wash100 Award for innovation.
Mishra, now a two-time Wash100 Award winner, is being recognized for leading Raft toward another successful year, with major defense contracts won, and championing innovation and modernization across the government and government contracting landscape, according to a media release.
“Being named to the Wash100 for a second year is an incredible honor, but the real credit belongs to the unstoppable Raft team. We don’t just embrace challenges—we run toward them with courage, breaking barriers and rewriting the playbook on how warfighters harness data autonomously,” said Mishra.
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“Real impact happens at the tactical edge, where seconds matter and lives are on the line. This isn’t just about tech; it’s about giving those on the front lines the decisive advantage—faster insights, smarter decisions, and mission success. Fear is the greatest enemy of progress, and at Raft, we run towards it with a lot of courage. This recognition fuels our fire to keep pushing limits, challenging the status quo, and shaping the future of defense,” she stated.
“Under her leadership, Raft rolled out a new and improved data platform to help the Department of Defense make better use of its data, landed an Air Force contract for cloud computing and IT integration, and continued to push the boundaries of how defense contractors can operate with speed and agility,” commented Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson, who founded the Wash100 Award in 2014.”
“Shubhi’s vision isn’t just about keeping up—it’s about setting the pace,” he said. “Shubhi is building a highly scalable, rapid capability at Raft. In the past year, she’s filled out the company’s C-suite with top-tier talent, laying the foundation for even bigger moves ahead,”
Raft had an impressive 2024. The company secured a contract from the Pacific Air Forces to install advanced software at the 613th Air Operations Center in Hawaii to meet mission objectives, according to the release. Raft will also work with the Space Rapid Capabilities Office to establish a cloud-based satellite operations infrastructure for a command and control program.
In addition to major contract wins, the defense technology provider updated its Raft Data Platform, or RDP, which is designed to aid data management and organization at the Pentagon. RDP harnesses the power of AI to accelerate and improve data analysis and processing.
“Now, the DOD has access to a powerful platform that gives them the versatility, speed and reliability to take control of its data landscape and stay ahead of adversaries,” said Mishra of the updated RDP.
Under Mishra’s leadership, Raft is reaching new heights. The company is growing to become a reliable partner for the DOD and a go-to provider of secure and advanced technologies for the military.
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Her and Raft’s many achievements over the past year make her worthy of standing among other exceptional government and govcon leaders in the Wash100 Award class of 2025, the release stated.
The Wash100 Award carries a more than 10-year legacy of enshrining the best and brightest of GovCon, on both the public and private ends of the spectrum. Winners are carefully picked based on off-the-charts results in leadership, vision, innovation, reliability and achievement and a demonstrated ability to meaningfully impact the industry.