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Pentagon AI Push Drives Smack Technologies’ $61 Million Funding Round

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Defense technology startup Smack Technologies has raised $61 million in Series B funding to accelerate production of its AI-powered battlefield decision systems and develop new wearable hardware for military use.

The funding comes as the Pentagon pushes to diversify its artificial intelligence suppliers and deploy more AI tools across military operations. Smack’s profile rose after the Defense Department’s dispute with Anthropic increased demand for alternative AI vendors.

The company’s flagship platform, Omega, uses reinforcement learning and real-time computer vision to help military units make targeting and battlefield planning decisions faster. Smack says the system can generate options within minutes and adjust plans in seconds when sensors, weapons or other resources become unavailable.

The company has already secured prototype contracts with the Joint Fires Network and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, while discussions with the Marine Corps and Navy have pushed Smack to speed up production.

Part of the new funding will also support Alpha, a flexible forearm-mounted AI display designed to give troops battlefield information directly in the field. Smack plans to produce between 10 and 20 prototype units over the next six months.

The startup has expanded rapidly, growing from 19 employees in April to 51, with plans to reach around 85 employees by the end of the year.

Palantir Beats Revenue Estimates as U.S. Government and AI Demand Surge

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Palantir delivered stronger-than-expected first-quarter revenue, reinforcing its growing position as one of the most strategically significant software providers at the intersection of artificial intelligence, enterprise analytics, and U.S. government technology infrastructure.

The company’s revenue exceeded Wall Street forecasts, powered by explosive growth across both U.S. government and commercial sectors. Government demand remained a major pillar, with defense and intelligence agencies expanding reliance on Palantir’s data integration, operational intelligence, and AI-enabled decision systems. At the same time, commercial growth accelerated sharply as corporations increasingly adopted Palantir’s enterprise AI platforms to streamline operations, automate decisions, and unify large-scale organizational data.

A particularly important strategic catalyst is Palantir’s Maven AI system becoming an official Pentagon program of record, effectively embedding its AI-powered targeting and operational systems more deeply into long-term U.S. military infrastructure. This strengthens Palantir’s role not merely as a contractor, but as a foundational defense technology platform.

The results also highlight a broader shift in the AI economy: while many firms compete in consumer-facing AI tools, Palantir is building dominance in mission-critical institutional AI, where national security, intelligence, and enterprise execution intersect. This positioning may offer more durable long-term contracts and higher strategic barriers to competition.

CEO Alex Karp’s emphasis on the United States as the company’s “core” business underscores Palantir’s alignment with expanding federal technology modernization, defense digitization, and geopolitical priorities.

For investors, Palantir’s performance suggests it is increasingly capitalizing on two of the fastest-growing AI spending categories: sovereign defense systems and enterprise operational intelligence. As governments and corporations race to operationalize AI at scale, Palantir appears increasingly positioned as a central infrastructure provider rather than a niche analytics vendor.

SpaceX Joins Pentagon Drone AI Contest

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its subsidiary xAI are reportedly competing in a classified Pentagon challenge focused on developing voice-controlled autonomous drone swarm technology.

According to Bloomberg, the initiative is part of a $100 million prize competition launched in January that seeks to create systems capable of translating voice commands into digital instructions for managing multiple drones simultaneously.

The project aligns with the U.S. Defense Department’s broader strategy to accelerate domestic drone innovation and streamline development processes. The technology under consideration could play a role in future security applications, including protecting major events and critical infrastructure.

SpaceX’s participation follows its recent acquisition of xAI, combining aerospace engineering with advanced artificial intelligence capabilities ahead of the company’s planned IPO.

Major AI firms including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and xAI previously secured Pentagon contracts worth up to $200 million each to advance AI adoption in defense systems.