WASHINGTON — Palantir Technologies, a maker of data analytics software that specializes in defense and intelligence gathering, said the U.S. Army Research Laboratory will extend its work with the company to support all branches of the Armed Services, Joint Staff, and Special Forces as they test, utilize and scale artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.

The contract is worth up to $229 million over one year, the Denver-based company said in a statement.

Palantir’s software will support warfighters, the data science community, and commercial AI companies across all facets of AI/ML research and development within the U.S. Department of Defense. This extension will enable the Pentagon to scale these capabilities to additional mission areas as well as emerging priorities, it said.

“Our work with ARL has enabled users in the field to accelerate the use of AI/ML in support of some of the most critical national security challenges our country and our allies are facing today,” said Shannon Clark, Senior Vice President of Innovation, Federal, in the statement.

The company first partnered with the Army Research Lab in 2018 to provide operational data and AI capabilities. Palantir’s platform has since supported the integration, management, and deployment of relevant data and AI model training to all of the Armed Services, COCOMs, and special operators globally, it said.

Palantir has been involved with Project Maven, a Pentagon effort to develop artificial intelligence capabilities that could help flag and decipher aerial surveillance footage. In June, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed company CEO Alex Karp to Kyiv, where they discussed Russian cyberattacks, defense cooperation and the opening of a corporate office.

U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command lack the AI capabilities needed to do their jobs to the fullest and maintain an edge over rival nations, the leader of both organizations said earlier this year.

“My assessment today is I don’t have what I need, as far as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to give the decision space to the president, secretary of defense, the chief of defense staff in Canada, the minister of defense and the prime minister in Canada,” U.S. Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck said at a Defense Writers Group event in late April.

Congress in fiscal 2022 pitched a $200 million program to boost adoption of AI across combatant commands, dovetailing with the Pentagon’s AI and Data Acceleration, or ADA, initiative.

Share:
More In Artificial Intelligence