OpenAI wins $200 mn contract with US military
San Francisco-based OpenAI will "develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains," according to the department's posting of awarded contracts.
The program with the defense department is the first partnership under the startup's initiative to put AI to work in governments, according to OpenAI.
OpenAI plans to show how cutting-edge AI can vastly improve administrative operations such as how service members get health care and also cyber defenses, the startup said in a post.
All use of AI for the military will be consistent with OpenAI usage guidelines, according to the startup.
Big tech companies are increasingly pitching their tools to the US military, among them Meta, OpenAI and, more predictably, Palantir, the AI defense company founded by Peter Thiel, the conservative tech billionaire who has played a major role in Silicon Valley's rightward shift.
OpenAI and defense tech startup Anduril Industries late last year announced a partnership to develop and deploy AI solutions "for security missions."
The alliance brings together OpenAI models and Anduril's military tech platform to ramp up defenses against aerial drones and other "unmanned aircraft systems", according to the companies.
"OpenAI builds AI to benefit as many people as possible, and supports US-led efforts to ensure the technology upholds democratic values," OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said at the time.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
WhatsApp will get ads. That might cause backlash in Europe
WhatsApp said that users will start seeing adverts in parts of the app, as owner Meta Platforms moves to cultivate a new revenue stream by tapping the billions of people who use the messaging service. Advertisements will be shown only in the app's Updates tab, which is used by as many as 1.5 billion people each day. However, they will not appear where personal chats are located, developers said. 'The personal messaging experience on WhatsApp isn't changing, and personal messages, calls and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be used to show ads,' WhatsApp said in a blog post on Monday. It is a big change for the company, whose founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton vowed to keep the platform free of ads when they created it in 2009. Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014 and the pair left a few years later. Parent company Meta Platforms Inc. has long been trying to generate revenue from WhatsApp. WhatsApp said ads will be targeted to users based on information like their age, the country or city where they're located, the language they're using, the channels they're following in the app, and how they're interacting with the ads they see. WhatsApp said it will not use personal messages, calls and groups that a user is a member of to target ads to the user. The European Commission signalled last year that the move fails to comply with its Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The European Centre for Digital Rights (noyb), led by privacy activist Max Schrems said that Meta's 'Pay or Okay' approach effectively forces users to choose between privacy and affordability. "Meta is doing exactly the opposite of what EU law requires," Schrems said in a statement. "The data of its various platforms gets linked, and users are tracked for advertising without any genuine choice. Without freely given consent, linking data and showing personalised advertising is clearly illegal," he added. Noyb said it would examine Meta's actions and "initiate procedures against the company "if necessary". The details depend on Meta's practical implementation and therefore cannot yet be assessed conclusively. Schrems said he expected a WhatsApp exodus to the messaging app Signal. 'Signal works just as well as WhatsApp, but is non-profit and donation-funded," he said. WhatsApp unveiled three advertising features on Monday as it tries to monetise the app's user base. Channels will also be able to charge users a monthly fee for subscriptions so they can get exclusive updates. Business owners will also be able to pay to promote their channel's visibility to new users. Most of Meta's revenue comes from ads. In 2025, the Menlo Park, California-based company's revenue totalled $164.5 billion (€142 billion) and $160.6 billion (€138 billion) of it came from advertising. Even though Europe is still lagging in the deployment of standalone 5G networks, the bloc is slowly catching up with other regions in the world, a European Commission report on connectivity targets published Monday suggested. The so-called Digital Decade report said that targets to have all EU households connected to 5G by 2030 - presented by the Commission in 2021 - ware likely to be met. 'The percentage of households covered by 5G (all spectrum bands) rose by 5.3 percentage points, from 89.0% in 2023 to 94.3% in 2024. This represents a year-on-year increase of 6.0%. According to the forecast along the baseline trajectory, 100% of the target is expected to be achieved already by 2027,' the report said. When it comes to rural areas, just under 80% were reached by 5G coverage, up from 71% in 2023. Korea leads with 100% coverage, followed by Japan (99.2%) and Norway (99.0%). The US (97.0%), India and China (all 95%) also exceed or match the EU's coverage rate. 5G connections are deemed necessary as the use of internet connected devices, industrial appliances and data volumes increase. The report – which also looked at digital skills, cloud and AI uptake -- said that overall, the EU made 'steady progress' in 2024 in digitalising key public services, but a substantial portion of governmental digital infrastructure continues to depend on service providers from outside the EU. 'The data shows persisting challenges, such as fragmented markets, overly complex regulations, security and strategic dependence. Further public and private investment and easier access to venture capital for EU companies would accelerate innovation and scale up,' the report said. In December, the Commission is set to present its Digital Networks Act (DNA), an overhaul of the bloc's telecom rules to address connectivity issues. A consultation on the DNA is currently open. In a response to Monday's report, Alessandro Gropelli, director general of telecom association Connect Europe, said a 'deep reform of Europe's connectivity policies is required.' 'We support an ambitious Digital Networks Act inspired by the Draghi Report: in the 21st century, there is no competitiveness without strong connectivity companies,' he added. Laszlo Toth, head of Europe at mobile network operators' trade association GSMA, said the report was encouraging but cautioned against complacency. "Getting a basic level of 5G coverage across Europe is one thing but actually providing people with the level of connectivity they need remains a huge challenge under current regulatory circumstances. We need the Commission to continue to look to the future in the upcoming DNA and merger reviews and promote a simplified and pro-investment environment where our digital ecosystem can truly thrive," said Toth. The 27 EU member states will now discuss the Commission's report and discuss the way forward. Next year, the EU executive will review the targets and whether they still reflect the evolving demand of the EU's priorities.
Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Portuguese label M2WIN debuts unisex T-shirts for wine lovers
From the vineyards of Portugal to playful wardrobe staples, M2WIN is bringing wine culture to fashion. Founded by twin sisters Margarida and Mariana Pinto—business graduates and creators of the Douro-based white wine label Casal da Viúva—the new label has debuted its first collection of T-shirts designed for wine lovers. The sisters also run a guesthouse in Armamar, in Portugal's scenic Douro subregion, offering visitors a full immersion in wine, design, and local heritage. In 2021, the sisters founded Casal da Viúva, producing wine from century-old vines inherited from their father, Manuel Cardoso Pinto, whose name also inspired the brand. Their maternal grandfather was one of the first Portuguese winemakers to produce reserve wines in several renowned Douro wineries, including those in Santa Marta, Penajóia, Mesão Frio, and Vila Flor. Long passionate about fashion, the sisters are now offering clothing through their new label to build a community of like-minded individuals. As they explained on their Instagram account: 'A brand's evolution is part of its growth. M2WIN adapts to our tastes, life stages and passions. We don't follow trends—we follow what we feel,' reads the message shared on @m2win_. M2WIN officially launched on May 1. About a week ago, the brand unveiled its first T-shirt collection aimed at wine lovers. Featuring humorous phrases, bold graphics, and vibrant colors on minimalist cuts, the shirts are designed to appeal to a playful, lifestyle-conscious audience. 'This is a way of promoting the product because wine needs to become more appealing to younger people,' Mariana Pinto told NiT, explaining why they chose to start with T-shirts—to make it easier for new audiences to identify with the brand. 'In just two months, we've produced dozens of shirts. The only ones still in stock are from last week's drop,' she added. 'The goal is to keep restocking the same designs in different colors to reach more people.' All the T-shirts are oversized, unisex, and designed for the warmer summer months. Each piece features light-hearted, wine-themed phrases like 'Skip the flowers, bring the wine,' 'Wine is my beauty secret,' and 'Drinking wine, feeling fine,' among others. The debut collection is available online via the brand's social media channels. Each shirt costs €25. The sisters say they intentionally kept pricing accessible to 'water' the Portuguese market with playful, feel-good fashion.
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Despite law, US TikTok ban likely to remain on hold
It would be the third time Trump put off enforcing a federal law requiring its sale or ban, which was to take effect the day before his January inauguration. "I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump said in an NBC News interview in early May. "If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension." Trump said a group of purchasers is ready to pay TikTok owner ByteDance "a lot of money" for the video-clip-sharing sensation's US operations. Trump has repeatedly downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app's US business. The president is "just not motivated to do anything about TikTok," said independent analyst Rob Enderle. "Unless they get on his bad side, TikTok is probably going to be in pretty good shape." Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, but reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform after coming to believe it helped him win young voters' support in the November election. "Trump's not really doing great on his election promises," Enderle maintained. "This could be one that he can actually deliver on." Digital Cold War? Motivated by national security fears and belief in Washington that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government, the ban took effect on January 19, one day before Trump's inauguration, with ByteDance having made no attempt to find a suitor. TikTok "has become a symbol of the US-China tech rivalry; a flashpoint in the new Cold War for digital control," said Shweta Singh, an assistant professor of information systems at Warwick Business School in Britain. "National security, economic policy, and digital governance are colliding," Singh added. The Republican president announced an initial 75-day delay of the ban upon taking office. A second extension pushed the deadline to June 19. As of Monday, there was no word of a TikTok sale in the works. Tariff turmoil Trump said in April that China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over tariffs imposed by Washington on Beijing. ByteDance has confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be "subject to approval under Chinese law". Possible solutions reportedly include seeing existing US investors in ByteDance roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company. Additional US investors, including Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone, would be brought on to reduce ByteDance's share in the new TikTok. Much of TikTok's US activity is already housed on Oracle servers, and the company's chairman, Larry Ellison, is a longtime Trump ally. Uncertainty remains, particularly over what would happen to TikTok's valuable algorithm. "TikTok without its algorithm is like Harry Potter without his wand -- it's simply not as powerful," said Forrester Principal Analyst Kelsey Chickering. Meanwhile, it appears TikTok is continuing with business as usual. TikTok on Monday introduced a new "Symphony" suite of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for advertisers to turn words or photos into video snippets for the platform. "With TikTok Symphony, we're empowering a global community of marketers, brands, and creators to tell stories that resonate, scale, and drive impact on TikTok," global head of creative and brand products Andy Yang said in a release.
