military
Close to a decade ago, brothers Aviv and Matteo Shapira co-founded a company, Replay, that created a video format for 360-degree replays — the sorts of replays that have become…
Update: In an additional statement, OpenAI has confirmed that the language was changed in order to accommodate military customers and projects the company approves of. Our policy does not allow…
When the government is the customer (some things to keep in mind)
Five years ago, Google backed away from a Pentagon government contract because thousands of employees protested that its tech might be used for lethal drone targeting. Today, however, Silicon Valley…
Shield AI raises another $60M at a $2.3B valuation for its military autonomous flying tech
Defense technology continues to get a lot of attention from investors, and today, one of the bigger startups in the space is announcing more funding. Shield AI — which develops…
Boston Dynamics sues Ghost Robotics over robot dog patent infringements
If you know anything about Ghost Robotics, it’s likely one of two things: 1) They make robot dogs. 2) Sniper rifles can be mounted to those robots. A majority of…
Dedrone’s counter-drone jammer uses science to stop drones in their tracks
Drones are lovely for all sorts of things, including shooting incredible 700-shot gigapixel images over Burning Man, for example. But they can also be used for nefarious purposes, carrying explosives…
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Google workers protest $1.2B Project Nimbus contract with Israeli military
A group of Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim and Arab Google employees are speaking out against the tech giant’s Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract involving Google, Amazon and the Israeli government and military. “We are proud that Google Cloud has been selected by the Israeli government to provide public cloud services to help digitally transform the…
Joby Aviation’s contract with US Air Force expands to include Marines
The United States Department of Defense is deepening its relationship with electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft company Joby Aviation. Joby said Wednesday that it is expanding its existing…
Anduril is raising up to $1.2B, sources say at a $7B pre-money valuation, for its defense tech
Technology built to improve state resilience — be it in the form of cybersecurity, energy independence, national defense or something else entirely — has come into stronger focus in the…
UK Foreign Office calls in ‘urgent support’ after cyber incident
The U.K’s Foreign Office was the target of a “serious incident” that forced it to request urgent cybersecurity help. The incident was confirmed in a recently released public tender document.…
Pentagon announces new cloud initiative to replace ill-fated JEDI contract
The Pentagon announced a limited request for bids for a new cloud initiative today that replaces the cancelled $10 billion, decade-long JEDI contract initiative. You may recall (or not) that…
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War dogs
Let’s talk about strapping guns to the backs of robots. I’m not a fan (how’s that for taking a stand?). When MSCHF did it with Spot back in February, it was a thought experiment, art exhibit and a statement about where society might be headed with autonomous robotics. And most importantly, of course, it was…
One of the most unfortunate fault lines in climate change politics today is the lack of cooperation between environmentalists and the national security community. Left-wing climate activists don’t exactly hang…
Social platforms wrestle with what to do about the Taliban
With the hasty U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan underway after two decades occupying the country, social media platforms have a complex new set of policy decisions to make. The Taliban…
Silicon Valley should fight its stigma against military work
The military is rightly described as a cross-section of the United States, and supporting those who serve is a Silicon Valley tradition, good business practice and the right thing to…
The US wants startups to get a piece of the $16 billion spent on space tech
The U.S. government is one of the biggest spenders in the nascent space industry, and the man who handles the money for the Air Force’s $16 billion checkbook wants startups…
Space Force commander explains how the new military service operates like a startup
The latest branch of the U.S. military was founded just a year ago and will celebrate its first birthday on December 20. General John W. “Jay” Raymond spoke at TC…
Watch Space Force’s Lt. Gen. John Thompson speak on sourcing tech to secure space
Lt. Gen. John Thompson of the United States Space Force spoke at TC Sessions: Space earlier this week on the importance of working with startups. The general is the Commander…
Two key UK military nonprofits join forces to boost veteran training in cyber and tech
Advancements in the tech and the cyber threat landscape are creating vast job opportunities. The global cybersecurity market is projected to reach £210 billion by 2026. But in the U.K.,…
UK to invest in AI and cyber as part of major defense spending hike
The UK has announced a massive boost in defense spending — £16.5 billion ($21.8BN) over four years, the biggest such spending bump for 30 years — in what prime minister…
The 1033 program takes center stage again, as militarized police make headlines
The killing of George Floyd and the nationwide protests that resulted have been a major wake-up call for many with regards to the role of policing in the United States.…
Air Force gives a rare look at the research going to orbit in its X-37B spaceplane
The X-37B spaceplane sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, and its mysterious past is equally evocative. What does the military put in this long-term orbital vehicle? Turns out…
The US Space Force’s Space Fence orbital tracking system is officially operational
The U.S. Space Force is a relatively young arm of the U.S. armed forces, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t already operating assets. The USSF announced late last week that…
Army photogrammetry technique makes 3D aerial maps in minutes
Aerial imagery is a common asset in military matters, but 3D maps can be difficult to collect on short notice without specialized equipment. This new photogrammetry technique from the Army…
It’s already tomorrow in Australia, seemingly in more ways than one. It’s the 27th already, yes, but they’re also working in putting together AI-flown companion jets for their fighters. Why…
Space Force will be a Marines-like branch under Air Force authority
President Trump is expected to sign into creation the Space Force today, as a special branch of the military overseen by the Air Force Department, according to a report in The…
‘Star Wars’ returns: Trump calls for space-based missile defense
The President has announced that the Defense Department will pursue a space-based missile defense system reminiscent of the one proposed by Reagan in 1983. As with Reagan’s ultimately abortive effort,…
NORAD Santa tracker will stay on even if the government shuts down
For more than 60 years, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, better known as NORAD, and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight around the…
Jeff Bezos is just fine taking the Pentagon’s $10B JEDI cloud contract
Some tech companies might have a problem taking money from the Department of Defense, but Amazon isn’t one of them, as CEO Jeff Bezos made clear today at the Wired25 conference.…
IBM files formal JEDI protest a day before bidding process closes
IBM announced yesterday that it has filed a formal protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office over the structure of the Pentagon’s winner-take-all $10 billion, 10-year JEDI cloud contract. The…
