Top Tech Firms Win $200 Million Pentagon AI Contracts 🤯

Welcome to another edition of Horizon AI,

Following a turbulent few days at xAI, where Grok went out of control and the company had to issue a public apology, the US government is now announcing a $200 million contract involving Musk’s AI startup as well as other leading AI companies.

Let’s jump into it!

Read Time: 4.5 min

Here's what's new today in the Horizon AI

• US Department of Defense Awards Contracts to AI Companies

• Zuckerberg Announces Massive Data Center Plans

• AI Tutorial: Use AI to plan your next trip’s entire itinerary for free

• AI Tools to check out

• AI Findings/Resources

• Video of the Day

• The Latest in AI and Tech 💡

AI News

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

US Department of Defense Awards Contracts to AI Companies

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded contracts worth up to $200 million to Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI.

Details:

• The official announcement provides few details, but the contracts are said to aim “to accelerate DoD adoption of advanced AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges.”

• The companies are expected to develop agentic AI workflows across several mission areas at the agency.

• “The adoption of AI is transforming the Department’s ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries,” said Doug Matty, the DoD’s Chief Digital and AI Officer.

• Elon Musk’s xAI is also introducing “Grok for Government,” which it says will deliver “frontier AI products” to U.S. government clients.

A similar deal was signed in 2024, when OpenAI was awarded a one-year, $200 million contract from the DoD, and like xAI, the company also launched its own “OpenAI for Government” last month.

Source

TOGETHER WITH CODEACADEMY

Get hands-on experience using the latest tools in tech

Get ready for new career opportunities with hands-on learning from Codecademy.

With 600+ interactive courses, Codecademy Pro helps you learn job-ready skills like AI, cybersercurity, and data science. Learners can also practice for technical interviews, build portfolio-worthy projects, and prepare for top industry certification tests.

Ready to give hands-on learning a try? Horizon AI readers can save 15% on an annual Pro membership when they use code SKILLUP15 at checkout.

Start learning with Codecademy

META

Zuckerberg Announces Massive Data Center Plans

Mark Zuckerberg has announced Meta’s plans to build massive AI data centers, aiming to lead the race toward superintelligence. The company’s ambitious plans also include a reorganization of its AI efforts under the newly formed Superintelligence Labs.

Details:

• Meta plans to spend hundreds of billions on AI data centers, with the first, Prometheus, set to launch in 2026. Another, Hyperion, will scale up to 5 gigawatts “over several years”.

• The company has reorganized its AI division to focus on long-term advancements, betting on tools like the Meta AI app, image-to-video ad tools, and smart glasses to generate new cash flows.

• Meta’s AI investments are reportedly already starting to pay off, as the technology has boosted its ad business by enabling it to sell more ads at higher prices.

While Meta’s stock is up 20% this year, some investors remain cautious about the long-term payoff of such massive spending. Still, the company appears committed to going all-in on AI, as this news comes just weeks after Mark Zuckerberg personally began leading efforts to recruit top AI talent with very generous offers.

Source

AI Tutorial

Use AI to plan your next trip’s entire itinerary for free

Planning your trips can take long hours of research, but with AI, you can speed up the process. Here's one way to use AI to automate every step of the trip planning process, from brainstorming to booking, for free.

1. Go to Airial Travel, select “Plan a trip” and tell the chatbot what kind of trip you're looking for.

Example: “I want to travel for two weeks in October. Somewhere warm, affordable, not too touristy. Maybe Mediterranean or Caribbean. I also don't want to be surrounded by too many tourists.”

2. The AI will ask follow-up questions or provide categories to choose from, such as “Beach relaxation” or “Cultural experiences.” You can also mention specific activities you'd like to partake in while traveling.

3. Based on your answers, it will suggest a rough outline of an itinerary. You can review and adjust it as needed.

4. The platform also lets you adjust preferences like dietary needs, hotel type, and flight options. Just click on “Trip preferences.”

*There’s also an "Instant Plan" option that can be toggled on at the beginning of the conversation. This option makes the chatbot skip any follow-up questions and provide a suggested itinerary immediately.

5. When you're done, click on Generate Trip (you’ll be asked to log in with your Google account). Once it's generated, you can make changes as needed and also share it with friends or family to collaborate.

6. Airial also shows you TikTok videos from locations that match the details in your prompts, to give you some extra inspiration. Just select the “Travel Inspired” option.

AI Tools to check out

💥 PrompTessor: Evaluate, improve, and optimize your AI prompts.

🦾 SketchBubble: Create stunning presentations in seconds.

👀 Minddex: Analyze your brand’s visibility in AI-generated answers on platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.

🔍 Atypica.AI: AI research agent simulating consumers.

💼 Candidate.ly: AI resume builder, client portal & website talent marketplace

AI Findings/Resources

📽 Short film on human cloning made using AI (600 prompts, 12 days, $500 budget)

👀 xAI shares Grok's system prompt publicly on GitHub

💡 An updated practical guide to AI agents

😱 A Reddit user deposited $400 into Robinhood, then let ChatGPT pick option trades. 100% win reate over 10 days.

🤔 The new meta for building anything in July 2025

The latest in AI and Tech

Apple is facing pressure from investors to make a major acquisition amid AI troubles

Investors want the company to break tradition and acquire or hire new AI talent. They have grown increasingly frustrated by the slump in share prices — which has wiped out more than $630 billion in Apple’s market value this year — and by the company’s repeated delays in introducing AI features.

Cognition acquires Windsurf

Just days after Google hired away the startup’s CEO and key leaders in a $2.4 billion reverse-acquihire, Cognition, maker of the AI coding agent Devin, has acquired the AI startup, with plans to integrate Windsurf’s IP and capabilities into its own products.

Microsoft is testing an image description feature on Copilot Plus PCs

The new feature will appear in the “Click to Do” menu and uses AI to generate a written description of an image, chart, or graph on your screen.

It is rolling out now to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-equipped Copilot+ PCs, with support for Intel- and AMD-powered devices coming soon.

Meta's days of giving free AI may be ending

As the company ramps up its AI spending, it is expected to pivot toward monetizing its tools instead of offering open-source models like Llama.

That’s a wrap!

Thanks for sticking with us to the end! Let’s stay connected on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Not subscribed yet? Sign up here and send it to a colleague or friend!

See you in our next edition!

Gina 👩🏻‍💻