logo
Meta offers ex-Pentagon officials jobs as big tech firm aims to sell AI services to US government: Report

Meta offers ex-Pentagon officials jobs as big tech firm aims to sell AI services to US government: Report

Mint11-05-2025
Big Tech firm, Meta Platforms Inc., is allegedly offering jobs to former national security and Pentagon officials to help in selling virtual reality and artificial intelligence (AI) services, reported the news portal Forbes, citing government officials in the know who were aware of the company's recruiting efforts.
Meta recently launched its Llama AI model for military use, and the firm has maintained its relationships with lobbyists in the US government. However, according to the news portal's report, the company has opened up nearly six job roles in an effort to secure lucrative government contracts.
According to the job roles data, the company is looking for two public policy managers, one of whom will focus on the White House. The report also cited that the job role requirement is to have a prior security clearance and work experience with the Pentagon.
'Lead our outreach to national security and foreign policy agencies within the Executive Branch of the U.S. government on both policy issues and adoption of our technologies,' according to the job post cited in the news portal's report.
In January 2025, Meta hired Francis Brennan, who was the former advisor to US President Donald Trump, to lead the company's communication in Washington, DC, as per the report.
They also hired another former official who claimed to have served an undisclosed US federal government agency for more than a decade, according to LinkedIn data cited in the report.
Meta refused to comment on the development, reported the news portal.
The recruitment development comes forth as Meta's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg tries to win over the current Trump administration.
According to the news portal's report, Meta has not announced any direct contracts or agreements with the Pentagon or the National Security Agency (NSA), but like its competitors, Google and Open AI, the media giant is looking to expand its business on the government spectrum.
'Meta is seeing every other big tech firm and reading the tea leaves, seeing that maybe the expected windfall from civilian use of AI is not going to appear,' Shana Marshall, who focuses on international affairs at George Washington University, told the news portal.
'If you are looking for a money spigot that's never going to get turned off, you go to the Pentagon,' said Marshall.
Even though Meta primarily operates in the online advertising segment, but the recent job updates and developments suggest that the Big tech firm is likely to expand its business in these ventures.
LiveMint couldn't independently verify the report.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

July 9 US trade tariffs deadline to be postponed? Will Donald Trump 'chicken out' this time?
July 9 US trade tariffs deadline to be postponed? Will Donald Trump 'chicken out' this time?

Time of India

time35 minutes ago

  • Time of India

July 9 US trade tariffs deadline to be postponed? Will Donald Trump 'chicken out' this time?

US trade tariffs deadline is approaching and all eyes are now on Donald Trump whether the President decides to delay the scheduled dates or not. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs July 9 Trump tariffs deadline for trade agreement is almost here everyone from US Stock Market investors to commoners want to whether the scheduled date will be extended or not. The tariffs were part of a broader announcement in April where Trump imposed a 10 per cent duty on goods from almost all trading partners, with a plan to step up these rates for a select group within days. But he swiftly paused the hikes until July 9, allowing for trade talks to take place. Countries have been pushing to strike deals that would help them avoid these elevated duties. So far, the Trump administration has unveiled deals with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, while Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower staggeringly high levies on each other's products. As his July 9 deadline approaches, Trump has repeatedly said he plans to inform countries of US tariff rates by sending them tariffs will kick in on August 1 if trading partners from Taiwan to the European Union do not strike deals with Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday. The rates will "boomerang back" to the sometimes very high levels which President Donald Trump had announced on April 2 -- before he suspended the levies to allow for trade talks and set a July 9 deadline for agreement, Bessent told confirmed comments by Trump to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday in which he also cited a new deadline: "Well, I'll probably start them on August 1. Well, that's pretty early. Right?" The president said he had signed 12 letters to be sent out, likely on Monday."It's not a new deadline. We are saying, this is when it's happening, if you want to speed things up have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate that's your choice," he said the playbook was to apply "maximum pressure" and cited the European Union as an example, saying they are "making very good progress" after a "slow start."Aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump said sending notices would be much easier than "sitting down and working 15 different things... this is what you have to pay, if you want to do business (with) the United States."A1. US Tariffs deadline will end on July 9.A2. Donald Trump announced tariffs on April 2.

Gold price outlook: Is yellow metal poised for a rise this week amid India-US trade negotiations? Expert weighs in
Gold price outlook: Is yellow metal poised for a rise this week amid India-US trade negotiations? Expert weighs in

Mint

timean hour ago

  • Mint

Gold price outlook: Is yellow metal poised for a rise this week amid India-US trade negotiations? Expert weighs in

Gold price outlook: Gold Futures on India's Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) closed flat after Friday, 4 July's market session. The futures jumped after opening on Friday due to a weak US dollar as the US House passed President Donald Trump's tax cut bill. The MCX gold futures for the August 2025 contract closed flat or ₹ 2 per 10 grams lower at 96,988 points on Friday, compared to 96,990 points at the previous commodity market close. The precious yellow metal hit an intraday high of ₹ 97,131 per 10 grams during the intraday session. On the global gold front, the Comex gold was up 0.11% or by $3.60 per ounce to $3,346.50 per ounce as of the trading session on 5 July 2025, according to official data. The commodity hit an intraday high of $3,355 per ounce on Friday. All eyes are on US President Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause deadline on 9 July 2025 as investors await nations to finish the final stretch of their trade negotiations. Last week, Trump also told reporters on board Air Force One that he has signed letters to 12 nations outlining the various tariff levels they would face on goods they export to the Western nation. If India does not negotiate a trade deal with the United States, they will face a tariff rate of 26% on top of the baseline 10% tariff rates on all imports to the United States. Safe-haven gold prices on the global markets rose to near $3,340 per ounce on Friday, 4 July 2025, and ended the first week of July with gains due to concerns about the US fiscal deficit and tariff uncertainty. In situations like these, market investors withdraw their money from high-risk assets like equity and derivatives markets in search of safe-haven investments like government treasuries and gold, which in turn increases the demand for them in the open market. However, gold's upside was capped by strong US labour market data, which noted that 147,000 jobs were added to the US economy in June 2025. The US unemployment rate also dropped to 4.1%, compared to its earlier level of 4.2% in May 2025. Jigar Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, expects that the commodity market investors will monitor the gold prices carefully as the 9 July tariff pause deadline nears. Even though the US economic calendar is 'relatively light,' the Trump administration's formal letter to foreign nations outlining the tariff rates is expected to be the investors' focus for any potential market uncertainties next week. The traders will also look at the US Federal Reserve's FOMC minutes to gain further clarity on the central bank's policy direction for the rest of the year. The commodity expert expects the MCX Gold for the August contract to find a 'good' support near the ₹ 96,000 per 10 grams level with a 'positive' outlook, while the US-based Comex gold is expected to trade in the range of $3,300 to $3,400. Read all stories by Anubhav Mukherjee Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly, and circumstances may vary.

BRICS summit opens in Brazil overshadowed by Trump's tariff policies and Middle East tensions
BRICS summit opens in Brazil overshadowed by Trump's tariff policies and Middle East tensions

Time of India

time2 hours ago

  • Time of India

BRICS summit opens in Brazil overshadowed by Trump's tariff policies and Middle East tensions

Brazil is playing host to a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies Sunday and Monday during which pressing topics like Israel's attack on Iran, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to be handled with caution. Analysts and diplomats have said the lack of cohesion in an enlarged BRICS, which doubled in size last year, may affect its ability to become another pole in world affairs. They also see the summit's moderate agenda as an attempt by member countries to stay off Trump's radar. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has some of his priorities, such as debates on artificial intelligence and climate change, front and center for the talks with key leaders not in attendance. Lula said in his speech on Sunday that "we are witnessing the unparalled collapse of multilateralism" and that the meeting is taking place "in the most adverse global scenario" of the four times Brazil has hosted it. He called for the group to promote peace and mediate conflicts. "If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to the BRICS to contribute to its renovation," Lula said at the opening of the summit. Live Events China's President Xi Jinping did not attend a BRICS summit for the first time since he became his country's leader in 2012. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will make an appearance via videoconference, continues to mostly avoid traveling abroad due to an international arrest warrant issued after Russia invaded Ukraine. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Egypt's Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi are also absent from the gathering in Rio de Janeiro. Three joint statements expected The restraint expected in Rio de Janeiro marks a departure from last year's summit hosted by Russia in Kazan, when the Kremlin sought to develop alternatives to U.S.-dominated payment systems which would allow it to dodge Western sanctions imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A source involved in the negotiations told journalists Friday that some members of the group want more aggressive language on the situation in Gaza and Israel's attack on Iran. The source spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter publicly. "Brazil wants to keep the summit as technical as possible," said Oliver Stuenkel, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation think tank and university. Consequently, observers expect a vague final declaration regarding Russia's war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East. As well as suiting Brazil, a watered-down and non-controversial statement may be made easier by the absences of Putin and Xi, Stuenkel said. Those two countries have pushed for a stronger anti-Western stance, as opposed to Brazil and India that prefer non-alignment. A Brazilian government official told The Associated Press on Thursday that the group is expected to produce three joint statements and a final declaration, "all of which less bounded by current geopolitical tensions." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the summit's preparations. Joao Alfredo Nyegray, an international business and geopolitics professor at the Pontifical Catholic University in Parana, said the summit could have played a role in showing an alternative to an unstable world, but won't do so. "The withdrawal of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the uncertainty about the level of representation for countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are confirming the difficulty for the BRICS to establish themselves as a cohesive pole of global leadership," Nyegray said. "This moment demands high level articulation, but we are actually seeing dispersion." Avoid Trump's tariffs Brazil, the country that chairs the bloc, has picked six strategic priorities for the summit: global cooperation in healthcare; trade, investment and finance; climate change; governance for artificial intelligence; peace-making and security; and institutional development. It has decided to focus on less controversial issues, such as promoting trade relations between members and global health, after Trump returned to the White House , said Ana Garcia, a professor at the Rio de Janeiro Federal Rural University. "Brazil wants the least amount of damage possible and to avoid drawing the attention of the Trump administration to prevent any type of risk to the Brazilian economy," Garcia said. While Brazil advocated on Sunday for the reform of Western-led global institutions, a cornerstone policy of the group, the country's government wants to avoid becoming the target of tariffs - a predicament it has so far largely escaped. Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs against the bloc if they take any moves to undermine the dollar. 'Best opportunity for emerging countries' BRICS was founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but the group last year expanded to include Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. As well as new members, the bloc has 10 strategic partner countries, a category created at last year's summit that includes Belarus, Cuba and Vietnam. That rapid expansion led Brazil to put housekeeping issues - officially termed institutional development - on the agenda to better integrate new members and boost internal cohesion. Despite notable absences, the summit is important for attendees, especially in the context of instability provoked by Trump's tariff wars, said Bruce Scheidl, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo's BRICS study group. "The summit offers the best opportunity for emerging countries to respond, in the sense of seeking alternatives and diversifying their economic partnerships," Scheidl said. For Lula, the summit is a welcome pause from a difficult domestic scenario, marked by a drop in popularity and conflict with Congress. The meeting also represents an opportunity to advance climate negotiations and commitments on protecting the environment before November's COP 30 climate talks in the Amazonian city of Belem.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store