Google, Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI join US defence to tackle national security with AI

In a significant move to strengthen national defence capabilities through artificial intelligence, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded contracts to four leading AI companies: OpenAI, Google (Alphabet), Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI. The contracts, each capped at $200 million, aim to accelerate the integration of cutting-edge AI into defence workflows, the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) confirmed on Monday.

The initiative will focus on developing advanced agentic AI systems, autonomous software agents capable of executing complex tasks, to support both combat operations and broader enterprise functions.