US Defense Tech Giants Plan Consortium to Challenge Major Contractors

Some of the largest American defense technology companies, including Palantir and Anduril Industries, are in talks to form a consortium with firms like SpaceX, OpenAI, and others, aiming to better compete for US government contracts, the Financial Times reported, citing sources.

The consortium would allow these companies to bid jointly on government contracts, seeking to break the dominance of major US defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing. The initiative involves discussions with about a dozen other companies, including SpaceX, ChatGPT creator OpenAI, autonomous shipbuilder Saronic, and AI firm Scale AI.

The consortium’s goal is to capture a larger share of the US government’s $850 billion defense budget. An agreement could be announced as early as January.