AI firm Palantir finds itself in battle with Pentagon DIA over key intelligence deal: Details here | Today’s news
Artificial intelligence (AI) company Palantir is now battling with the US Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for the right to bid for a contract to upgrade its data analysis system.
Axios reported the development on Thursday (local time), saying the battle comes at a time when AI already has a significant presence in the Pentagon, which could eventually extend to the agency responsible for providing foreign military intelligence aimed at helping prevent and win wars.
Read also | Anduril, Palantir and SpaceX are changing the way America wages war
Why is Palantir protesting the Pentagon DIA?
An artificial intelligence company says the DIA is wasting taxpayer money and breaking laws by refusing to consider a commercial solution for its efforts to modernize data analytics.
According to the report, the DIA launched the Machine-assisted Analytic Rapid-Repository System (MARS) eight years ago and has been developing it ever since to replace the Cold War-era system.
Palantir says the agency is spending money trying to rebuild the system from scratch with unreliable results instead of opting for a commercial solution.
The White House encourages competition
The White House wants every company to be able to compete, according to a national security official in President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The president has issued several EOs pushing for the deployment of the best technologies that the private sector has to offer,” the official said.
The official also noted, “I wouldn’t be surprised if there is swift action to rectify this and ensure a fair chance for any company that wants to compete.”
The official added that the General Services Administration, the DIA or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could decide to scrap the MARS program and overhaul it, especially given how much AI technology has advanced since the program was launched nearly a decade ago.
Read also | Pete Hegseth is at war with Anthropic
London mayor blocks Palantir deal with Met Police
In a separate incident, The Guardian reported on Thursday that London Mayor Sadiq Khan had blocked the Met Police’s £50m deal with controversial US technology company Palantir, with City Hall citing “clear and serious breaches” of public procurement rules.
According to the report, Scotland Yard discussed using Palantir AI technology to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations. But Khan intervened to stop the landmark contract, which would have been Palantir’s biggest policing deal in the UK.
The Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime (MOPAC), which is responsible for approving contracts of this size, refused to sign off on the deal. She said Scotland Yard had only meaningfully considered one supplier, Palantir, raising concerns that the Met could be too reliant on the company’s technology. Khan’s office also argued that the proposed contract did not clearly demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money.
Read also | New York pension funds are investigating Palantir through an ICE contract
Palantir vs Anthropic
In early March, Reuters reported that Palantir had become the latest company to fall victim to a disagreement between Anthropic and the Pentagon over AI security protections, which has raised uncertainty about a key military software platform.
Palantir’s Maven Smart Systems platform, used by militaries for intelligence analysis and weapons targeting, relies on several challenges and workflows developed with Anthropic’s Claude AI, according to the report.
In February, the US president ordered the US government to stop working with Anthropic after the AI company clashed with the Pentagon over policies related to autonomous weapons and government surveillance.
The dispute highlights growing tensions over how the Pentagon should embrace AI technology and which private companies will shape the future of America’s military intelligence and defense systems.
