Google, Nvidia and other tech titans sign AI deal with the Pentagon
Eight technology companies, including Google, Nvidia and SpaceX, have reached agreements with the Pentagon to help the US military gain an edge on the battlefield.
“These agreements accelerate the transformation toward establishing the U.S. military as an AI-driven fighting force and will strengthen our warfighters’ ability to maintain decision superiority in all domains of warfighting,” the Department of Defense said Friday.
The companies will deploy their AI technology on the department’s “classified networks” for “lawful operational use,” according to the agency.
OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Oracle and AI startup Reflection are among the companies that have agreed to work with the Pentagon.
The deals underscore how tech companies are expanding their collaboration with the U.S. military, even as some workers express concerns about the use of AI for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. Anthropic, the San Francisco company behind the Claude chatbot, clashed with the Pentagon earlier this year over whether there were adequate safeguards around the military’s use of its technology.
The Defense Department accused Anthropic of trying to “veto power” over military decisions, although the company objected to that characterization. The agency has labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk, and the Trump administration has ordered federal agencies to stop using the company’s tools, sparking a legal battle over the designation.
This week, hundreds of Google employees urged its chief executive, Sundar Pichai, to reject the use of its AI systems for classified workloads to ensure its technology is not used in “inhumane or extremely dangerous ways.” Harmful use may be occurring without their knowledge since the work is classified, the workers said in the letter.
Google, Reflection and SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. The Defense Department did not say how much each company was paid. A Pentagon official said some companies had active contracts while others had agreements in place, but formal contracts were forthcoming.
In an interview with CNBC, Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael said the department wanted to diversify the companies it worked with following its dispute with Anthropic.
“The guardrails are something that is negotiable based on what they are with all companies, and they have different views on it,” he told CNBC. Safeguards must also be consistent with government values and restrictions, he added.
A source familiar with Nvidia’s contract with the Pentagon said the deal involves working with its “Nemotron” AI models, which are used to create AI agents that can perform tasks, and not its chips. The agreement includes provisions that use of the models will be consistent with civil liberties, constitutional rights and applicable law, the source said.
OpenAI said the agreement announced by the Department of Defense refers to the agreement reached with the agency earlier this year.
The company said it wants “the people who defend the United States to have the best tools.”
OpenAI, which faced backlash for reaching a deal with the Pentagon after the Anthropic fallout, said in March that its technology would not be used for mass domestic surveillance, high-stakes automated decisions or to direct autonomous weapons.
Other technology companies, such as Microsoft, Oracle and Amazon Web Services, have also said they want to support the military and ensure they have access to the best AI tools.
“We look forward to continuing to support the Department of War’s modernization efforts, creating AI solutions that help them accomplish their critical missions,” Amazon Web Services spokesperson Tim Barrett said in a statement.
