The Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) has awarded contracts to Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI, each with a $200 million ceiling, to accelerate the military’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to address national security challenges.
The specific tasks under the contract have not been disclosed but according to CDAO’s statement, the agreements focus on “frontier AI,” the most advanced commercial AI models available, and aim to develop agentic AI systems capable of performing autonomous tasks across defense and intelligence operations.
“The adoption of AI is transforming the Department’s ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries,” said Dr. Doug Matty, Chief Digital and AI Officer.
The initial phase involves each company identifying military problems suitable for AI solutions. The Department of Defense (DoD) will evaluate these proposals based on cost, feasibility, and mission relevance.
The Pentagon stressed this is not a competition but an opportunity to assess varied approaches.
“We expect each company will offer unique value,” a Pentagon spokesperson told The Register. “This work will help integrate trusted commercial AI capabilities directly into DoD decision-making workflows.”
