The US Department of Defence has awarded contracts worth up to $200 million each to OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI to accelerate the use of advanced artificial intelligence across the military and federal government.

The Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office said on Monday that the agreements aim to scale up the deployment of "agentic AI workflows" to address key national security priorities.

"Establishing these partnerships will broaden DoD use of and experience in frontier AI capabilities and increase the ability of these companies to understand and address critical national security needs," the department said in a statement.

The awards follow a $200 million contract announced last month with OpenAI to prototype AI tools for both combat and enterprise operations.

On Monday, Musk’s company xAI said its Grok chatbot will be available to US government agencies under a new suite called "Grok for Government."

The tool is now listed on the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule, allowing any federal department or agency to purchase access.

"Today’s awards bring in the best US-based frontier AI talent to help apply cutting-edge AI to solve DoD use cases," the Pentagon said.

New era of collaboration

Doug Matty, the Pentagon’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, said the adoption of AI was "transforming the Department’s ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage."

He added that working with commercial providers would help rapidly integrate AI into areas such as intelligence, operations, and enterprise IT systems.

The Biden administration has pushed federal agencies to strengthen domestic AI development and avoid overreliance on foreign platforms.

In April, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued guidance directing agencies to ensure AI adoption benefits the public while preserving competition in the US tech sector.