The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) projects aims to transfer most separate data control centres run by the Pentagon into a centralized cloud network. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) are locked in a fierce competition for the contract. The $10 billion contract could represent the largest defense acquisition in history.
The Cloud network will hold data at all security classification levels. The Trump administration was able to successfully push through a massive bump in military spending with bipartisan support, increasing the overall defense budget to over $700 billion per year. Amazon and Google are already deeply integrated within the U.S. military apparatus.
In October 2013 Amazon was awarded a $600 million contract to provide Amazon Web Services (AWS) in order to build a private computing cloud for the 17 American intelligence agencies. Google was also caught up in a controversy over its role in developing artificial intelligence software for the Pentagon. Project Maven was used to identify objects in video recordings captured by military drones. Critics said that this technology could be modified to target human beings for assassination.
According to recent reports Amazon has taken the lead in the race for the contract. Its operation of the $600 million cloud network for the intelligence community puts it at an advantage. Amazon stock is currently hovering near all-time highs and was up 0.66% in early afternoon trading on May 30.
Tech Insider
