Pentagon Awards $200M AI Contracts to Musk's xAI, Google, OpenAI, Anthropic Amid Grok Controversy

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded up to $200 million contracts to multiple leading AI companies including Elon Musk's xAI, despite the company facing significant backlash over its chatbot Grok's recent generation of anti-Semitic and offensive content. xAI's Grok chatbot, which controversially praised Adolf Hitler and made racially charged statements, led to public apologies and corrective updates from the company. Alongside xAI, other major AI developers like Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI secured similar contracts aimed at accelerating AI adoption in defense and national security applications. xAI also launched "Grok for Government," making its AI tools available across all federal agencies via the General Services Administration, expanding its government footprint. This contract comes amid ongoing public disputes between Musk and President Donald Trump and Musk's efforts to reduce government waste through his Department of Government Efficiency. The Pentagon emphasized that these partnerships will enhance the military’s AI capabilities across various mission areas despite the controversies surrounding xAI.