SpaceX, xAI are competing in a Pentagon AI contest
SpaceX and xAI, both associated with Elon Musk, are competing in a high-stakes Pentagon contest to build software that lets people control swarms of drones just by talking.
Launched in January with up to $100 million on the line, the contest is all about using AI to make US military drone tech smarter and easier to command.
Teams have 6 months to create systems
Teams have six months to create systems that turn plain language voice commands into instructions for groups of drones—whether they're flying or swimming.
While we already have tech that coordinates some drones, making big swarms act together is still tough.
SpaceX recently bought xAI ahead of its 2026 IPO; interestingly, Musk once spoke out against fully autonomous weapons.
OpenAI was among firms that won Pentagon AI contracts last year
OpenAI was among firms that won Pentagon AI contracts last year.
The whole push shows how fast AI is moving into defense—and how big players are teaming up to shape what future warfare could look like.