Elon Musk's space company, SpaceX, along with its AI subsidiary xAI, is participating in a secret Pentagon competition to create autonomous drone swarms controlled by voice commands. Bloomberg reports this based on insider sources.
The entry of these two startups into the AI-based weapons development arena marks a new and potentially controversial direction for the billionaire, according to the agency.
SpaceX has long been a defense contractor, and Musk actively supports AI development, yet he has opposed creating "new tools for killing people."
In 2015, the billionaire signed an open letter warning about the dangers of autonomous weapons, calling for a ban on weapons capable of selecting targets and acting without significant human oversight.
Project Overview
A limited number of companies have been selected to participate in a six-month tender with a $100 million fund aimed at developing advanced "swarm technology capable of translating voice commands into digital instructions and managing multiple drones."
While the ability to coordinate multiple drones simultaneously already exists, creating software to pilot dozens of devices at once remains a complex challenge.
The project will unfold in five phases, starting with software development and culminating in real-world testing. The drones will be used for offensive purposes, Bloomberg claims.
The xAI startup has begun actively hiring engineers in Washington and on the U.S. West Coast with current security clearance to work with federal contractors.
In January, the AI bot Grok was integrated with the Pentagon's network. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that he would "provide all necessary data" from military IT systems, including intelligence information.
Previously, the U.S. Department of Defense allocated $200 million to companies like Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI for developing AI solutions in the security sector.
The department's Digital and AI Technology Management Office stated that the funds would help accelerate the integration of advanced neural network capabilities into national security tools.
OpenAI's Involvement
While SpaceX has been a defense contractor, its focus has primarily been on reusable rockets and satellites for space exploration, military communications, and intelligence, with no prior involvement in offensive weapon software.
It is not the only participant in the project. OpenAI supports the application from Applied Intuition, but it will only provide a "mission control center" element that translates commanders' voice commands into digital instructions.
Sam Altman's company's technologies will not be used for drone control, weapon integration, or target selection.
Pentagon's AI Push
The Pentagon is intensifying the use of artificial intelligence on the battlefield. In January, it released a new AI strategy that includes the use of agents for everything from operational planning to targeting, potentially involving lethal strikes.
In February, media outlets reported on the use of Claude from Anthropic in an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The department plans to review its contract with the AI startup due to disagreements over Anthropic's strict ethical policies, which prohibit using the Claude model for mass surveillance and autonomous lethal operations.
"Our country needs partners willing to help fighters win any war," said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.
The U.S. Army is pressuring four major AI companies to allow their technologies to be used for "all lawful purposes," including weapon development, intelligence gathering, and combat operations.
Anthropic refuses to lift restrictions on surveillance of U.S. citizens and the creation of fully autonomous weapons. Negotiations have stalled, but quickly replacing Claude is challenging due to the model's technological superiority in specific government tasks.
In addition to Anthropic's chatbot, the Pentagon is using ChatGPT from OpenAI, Gemini from Google, and Grok from xAI for non-classified tasks. All three have agreed to relax restrictions that apply to regular users.
Discussions are currently underway to transfer LLMs to classified environments and use them "for all lawful purposes." One of the three companies has already agreed to this, while the other two are showing "greater flexibility" compared to Anthropic.
Axios reported that Hegseth is "close" to severing business ties with Anthropic and recognizing the company as a "supply chain risk"—meaning any firm wishing to work with the U.S. military must cease collaboration with the creator of Claude.
"This is going to be hell to untangle. We will make sure they pay the price for forcing us into this step," said a senior Pentagon official.
Recognizing Anthropic as a supply chain risk will require Pentagon contractors to confirm they are not using Claude in their processes. This is likely to affect many companies. Previously, Dario Amodei's startup stated that eight out of the ten largest firms in the U.S. use the chatbot.
As a reminder, in March 2025, the Pentagon announced the use of AI agents for simulating conflicts with foreign adversaries.