ISTANBUL, Turkiye: The Pentagon awarded a USD500-million (approx. RM2-billion) contract to Meta-backed Scale AI to analyse large volumes of data and support decision-making as part of the US military’s push toward greater use of artificial intelligence, Anadolu Ajansi reported citing a Bloomberg report.
The deal represents a fivefold jump from a USD100-million (approx. RM400-million) contract the company secured from the Pentagon in September 2025.
According to Dan Tadross, who leads Scale AI’s public sector business, the Pentagon had been “pushing the limits” of the initial agreement.
“I think this contract is just generally proof that the (Defence) Department is eager to adopt this technology,” Tadross said.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Scale AI is also involved in the Defence Innovation Unit’s Thunderforge initiative, which aims to integrate AI into military strategy and operations, as well as in President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome homeland defence system.
Meta acquired a 49 per cent stake in the company last year.
The agreement, signed with the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, ranks among the Pentagon’s larger AI-related contracts.
It aligns with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s broader plan outlined in a January strategy memo to expand AI adoption and remove what he described as bureaucratic obstacles to its implementation.
Earlier in May, the Pentagon also finalised deals with Nvidia Corp., Microsoft Corp., Reflection AI and Amazon Web Services to broaden the use of advanced AI technologies across classified military networks. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU
