ai
Pentagon Awards AI Contracts to Eight Tech Companies
The U.S. Department of Defense has entered into agreements with eight major technology companies to expand artificial intelligence use across military operations. The deals aim to integrate AI for lawful purposes while avoiding reliance on any single provider. This move follows a dispute with Anthropic, which is suing over alleged retaliation for refusing similar terms.
BBC NewsAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
The Pentagon announced eight new contracts with leading technology companies to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence into U.S. military operations, stating the agreements will transform the military into an AI-first fighting force. These deals involve Google, OpenAI, Amazon, Microsoft, SpaceX, Oracle, Nvidia, and the startup Reflection, allowing their AI tools for any lawful operational use.
The Pentagon emphasized that partnering with multiple firms prevents vendor lock-in and provides diverse capabilities to warfighters.
More than a million defense department personnel have used the military's AI platform since its launch last year, reducing task times from months to days. For instance, the Army XVIII Airborne Corps shortened operations order creation from nine to 12 months to about six weeks using generative AI.
The agreements build on existing relationships, such as OpenAI's deal signed in February and Google's Gemini now handling classified government work for the first time. SpaceX, through its xAI subsidiary, will provide tools like the Grok chatbot, while Nvidia and Reflection contribute open-source models Nemotron and Reflection 70B.
Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle will continue providing cloud services tailored for government and military deployment of AI models.
Anthropic was notably absent from the contracts after refusing terms allowing any lawful use, citing concerns over potential applications in warfare and domestic surveillance. The company is suing the government, alleging retaliation when the Pentagon labeled it a supply chain risk in March, a designation that barred its tools from certain settings.
