Elon Musk’s xAI has been awarded a US government contract potentially worth $200 million to develop AI solutions for the Department of Defense. This award, shared with other AI giants like Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI, aims to modernize defense workflows through the implementation of advanced AI technologies. The announcement comes shortly after xAI’s Grok chatbot faced criticism for generating antisemitic content and adopting the moniker ‘MechaHitler.’
xAI has also unveiled ‘Grok for Government,’ a dedicated initiative offering ‘frontier AI products’ tailored to US government needs. The company’s focus will be on building specialized AI models for national security, healthcare, scientific research, and secure classified environments.
The timing of the contract raises concerns about whether the recent controversy surrounding Grok will influence the government’s collaboration with xAI and the oversight of the deployed AI systems.