Select Language:
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its fully owned subsidiary, xAI, are reportedly competing in a covert Pentagon challenge to develop voice-activated, autonomous drone swarms, according to Bloomberg News on Monday, citing sources familiar with the project. Neither SpaceX, xAI, nor the Pentagon’s defense innovation unit responded immediately to requests for comment. Reuters was unable to verify the claims independently.
SpaceX, based in Texas, recently acquired xAI in a deal that combined Musk’s major aerospace and defense firm with his artificial intelligence startup. This move occurred ahead of SpaceX’s anticipated IPO planned for later this year.
According to Bloomberg, SpaceX, xAI, and a select few other contenders have been invited to participate in a $100 million prize competition launched in January. The six-month contest is focused on creating advanced drone swarming technology capable of converting voice commands into digital instructions to operate multiple drones simultaneously.
Back in 2015, Musk joined other AI and robotics researchers in signing an open letter calling for a global ban on “offensive autonomous weapons,” emphasizing concerns about the development of new lethal tools.
Last year, the U.S. Secretary of Defense announced a strategy to streamline drone research and deployment, aiming to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and promote local drone manufacturing. The U.S. also seeks affordable and safe methods to disable drones near airports and large events, driven by heightened concerns ahead of upcoming events like the FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
In addition, last year, companies like OpenAI, Google’s Alphabet, Anthropic, and xAI secured contracts worth up to $200 million each from the Pentagon to expand the use of advanced AI technologies in defense applications.
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini AI
Grok AI
