Latest news with #ShyamSankar
New York Post
12 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
Silicon Valley's enthusiasm for Pentagon is just beginning
In the span of a few years, Silicon Valley executives have shifted from viewing Pentagon collaboration as war-mongering to joining the US Army Reserve. And if the response Palantir chief technology officer Shyam Sankar — who has joined the newly formed Detachment 201: Executive Innovation Corps — has received is any indication, the tech industry's enthusiasm is just beginning. Sankar told me he has been inundated with messages from people in the industry who want to do the same. 'Hundreds of people have reached out to me,' he said. 'Service is contagious and people respond.' Advertisement 7 Palantir chief technology officer Shyam Sankar he has been inundated with messages from people in the tech industry interested in serving in the Army Reserve: 'Hundreds of people have reached out to me.' Getty Images for 137 Ventures/Founders Fund/Jacob Helberg Last Friday, Sankar was sworn into Detachment 201, along with Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, OpenAI Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil and Bob McGrew, OpenAI's former Chief Research Office. The four will serve part-time as senior advisors. The purpose of the new initiative, the Army said in a statement, 'is to fuse cutting-edge tech expertise with military innovation.' Sankar envisions a future where the Department of Defense will prioritize recruiting in the Bay Area. Advertisement 'You need to be where the innovative talent is,' he said. 'We have the facilities they don't have.' 7 OpenAI chief product officer Kevin Weil is joining the US Army Reserve as a part-time senior advisor. Getty Images for HumanX Conference This surge of patriotism marks a dramatic change for an industry that has, in recent years, shunned defense tech firms. Scale CEO Alexandr Wang told me his company's decision to work with the Department of Defense five years ago was enormously controversial at the time. Advertisement 7 Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth is joining Sankar at the newly formed Detachment 201: Executive Innovation Corps. REUTERS 'We were a bit of a pariah in the AI industry because all the other AI companies were were going the other way. They were moving away from working with on defense or security applications,' Wang said. 'And now I'm seeing that pendulum swing back where, even in Silicon Valley, there's a clear recognition and moral imperative that we need to be utilizing AI to support, support our war fighters, support our natural security mission.' Over the past year, OpenAI secured a $200 million contract with the DoD to develop AI capabilities for national security, marking its first major government contract. Advertisement 7 In the last year, OpenAI — where Sam Altman is CEO — secured a $200 million contract with the Department of Defense. Getty Images Meta partnered with Anduril Industries to develop augmented reality (AR) products for US military use. Google has re-entered the defense sector by reversing earlier AI policies that prevented it from supporting national security. That's a big switch from 2018, when Google walked away from the Pentagon's Project Maven (which used AI and machine learning for military targeting) after thousands of employees — touting the company's 'Don't be evil' mantra — signed a letter demanding the company abandon the project. David Ulevitch founded a16z's American Dynamism firm, which invests in founders and companies that support the national interest, including in the fields of aerospace, defense, public safety, education and housing. He told me that Google's overreaction was a 'watershed moment' that spurred others in the industry to return to working on defense and warfare. 7 In 2018 Google walked away from the Pentagon's Project Maven after thousands of employees — touting the company's 'Don't be evil' mantra — signed a letter demanding the company abandon the project. JOHN G MABANGLO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 'The history of Silicon Valley is rooted in supporting the national interest ,' he said, 'but somewhere along the way, many lost sight of that. 'Founders have realized that building in the national interest doesn't just feel good and patriotic — which it is — but represents a generational opportunity to build the iconic companies that will power and advance our country for decades to come.' Advertisement During World War II, Frederick Terman, the Stanford engineering dean often called the 'father of Silicon Valley,' built a defense tech ecosystem at the university, securing government contracts and establishing the Stanford Industrial Park. And companies like Hewlett-Packard, Varian Associates, Shockley Semiconductor and Fairchild Semiconductor supplied critical electronics for military radar, missiles and communication systems. 7 Alexandr Wang said concerns over China and the geopolitical tensions have pushed tech leaders to work with the US government. REUTERS This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and political chess moves that matter most to NYC's power players (and those who aspire to be). The stakes might be higher now, with AI's potential to transform governance or even create an extinction event. And many tech leaders have worked with China — and recognize how that country doesn't play fair. Advertisement Wang warned: 'If China gets ahead and America's brightest minds don't tackle national security, what does that world look like?' Silicon Valley's embrace of patriotism coincides with a cultural shift as companies crack down on all things 'woke,' decreasing DEI requirements and curtailing climate pledges. Of course, along with patriotism comes the potential for enormous profit. 7 The Department of Defense, headquartered in the Pentagon, has a budget of nearly a trillion dollars each year. Getty Images/iStockphoto Advertisement Palantir, which relies on the government for more than 40% of its revenue, has come under scrutiny — with lawmakers asking the company to share details of a project that could help the government create a database of Americans, according to a New York Times report. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) has concerns about data privacy and tech companies getting too close to the government, emphasizing the need for a balance between innovation and security. 'You can innovate while safeguarding information,' he told me. He said technologies like blockchain, which could track access to American data, offer a promising solution to enhance privacy protections. Relying on American companies is arguably the best way to do that. Advertisement 'Ninety percent of all tech is American… it's one of our greatest assets,' Sankar said. 'This is about the importance and primacy of people. When we look at history, innovators like John Boyd, who created the F-16, [have from] the private sector.' Send NYNext a tip: nynextlydia@
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Silicon Valley Execs Join the Army as Officers (But Won't Have to Attend Boot Camp)
The tech industry is fully on board, but the rank and file won't have to do time as grunts. The U.S. military recently announced that four executives from some of the top tech companies in Silicon Valley have joined the Army Reserve as direct-commissioned officers. The move is part of a push to speed up the adoption of technology in the military, but as the news outlet Task & Purpose points out, it's pretty unusual. The Army said in a press release that the four executives are Shyam Sankar, CTO at Palantir; Andrew Bosworth, CTO at Meta; Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer of OpenAI; and Bob McGrew, an advisor at Thinking Machines Lab and former Chief Research Officer for OpenAI. The four men are being commissioned at the high rank of lieutenant colonel as part of a program called Detachment 201: The Army's Executive Innovation Corps. As Task & Purpose notes, the men will get to skip the usual process of taking a Direct Commissioning Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and they won't need to complete the Army Fitness Test. The Army didn't respond to questions emailed Tuesday but said in a statement published on its website that, 'Their swearing-in is just the start of a bigger mission to inspire more tech pros to serve without leaving their careers, showing the next generation how to make a difference in uniform.' Their role in the Army Reserve is to 'work on targeted projects to help guide rapid and scalable tech solutions to complex problems,' as the Army puts it. The new reservists will serve for about 120 hours a year, according to the Wall Street Journal, and will have a lot of flexibility to work remotely. They'll work on helping the Army acquire more commercial tech, though it's not clear how conflict-of-interest issues will be enforced, given the fact that the people all work for companies that would conceivably be selling their wares to the military. In theory, they won't be sharing information with their companies or 'participating in projects that could provide them or their companies with financial gain,' according to the Journal. Silicon Valley has always benefited greatly from ties to the U.S. military. Silicon Valley companies were bringing in $5 billion annually from defense contracts during the Reagan administration, something that the average person may not remember about the 1980s. But it's always been an uneasy alliance for consumer-facing tech companies, especially over recent decades. That's all changing, according to many folks who align more with President Donald Trump, who was once considered a shameful person to represent in polite company. As Andrew Bosworth, the CTO at Meta, who is joining the Army Reserves, told the Wall Street Journal, 'There's a lot of patriotism that has been under the covers that I think is coming to light in the Valley.' Bosworth and his buddies can be a bit more open about their goals now that Trumpism has been more normalized in the president's second term. But they also run the risk of hitching their wagons—and the reputation of the companies they represent—to a president who's famous for acting recklessly. After all, this is the guy who just a couple of days ago told Tehran, a city of 10 million people, to evacuate and is heavily suggesting he's going to get the U.S. into war with Iran. Some people may think that's a good thing, and at the very least, it might be a wise business decision for some firm like Palantir to hope for war. But OpenAI and Meta have a lot of products that depend on buy-in from the general public. And we've seen guys like Elon Musk take huge hits to their bottom lines after attaching themselves to Trumpism. And with Trump at the helm, any association with the Army is bound to be perilous in a time of war. We all saw the viral videos of Trump's parade, right?
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
US Army's nerd force; Palantir, Meta, OpenAI tech bosses join Executive Innovation Corps, one sold knives in college
Army forms Detachment 201 to bridge civil-military tech divide The US Army officially launched Detachment 201: Executive Innovation Corps on June 13, 2025, as part of its broader Army Transformation Initiative. The new reserve unit aims to integrate top technology executives into the Army Reserve to support innovation and modernization across military operations. Participants are commissioned as part-time lieutenant colonels and will serve as strategic advisors, offering insight into emerging technologies and supporting the development of tech-driven defense capabilities. Also read: US Space Force: US admits China the preeminent space power with powerful weapons by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Moose Approaches Girl At Bus Stop In National Capital Region - Watch What Happens Happy in Shape Four prominent figures from the tech industry were sworn in as the inaugural members of the Executive Innovation Corps. The founding cohort includes Shyam Sankar, Chief Technology Officer at Palantir; Andrew Bosworth, Chief Technology Officer of Meta; Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer at OpenAI; and Bob McGrew , former Chief Research Officer at OpenAI and current advisor at Thinking Machines Lab. Here's more about who they are and why they are chosen to be the new nerds for US Army's invasion into military tech: Live Events Shyam Sankar: from Systems Engineer to Palantir's Chief Technologist Shyam Sankar is Chief Technology Officer of Palantir Technologies and one of the most vocal advocates for revitalizing the US defense industrial base. His professional journey reflects a deep commitment to applied technology, national resilience, and transformation of how government institutions work with private-sector software. Sankar holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University and a Master of Science in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. His career began in the early 2000s with ZeroChaos as a developer and later transitioned into business roles at Xoom Corporation, including VP of Network Management for Asia Pacific. These formative roles gave him early exposure to financial technology, distributed systems, and emerging markets. In 2006, Sankar joined Palantir Technologies, then a relatively young company, as Chief Operating Officer. For nearly 17 years, he played a leading role in building Palantir into one of the most prominent defense-tech software firms in the world. His work spanned operations, product strategy, and client engagement, particularly with national security and military institutions. In 2023, he was named Chief Technology Officer. Also read: China develops military tech to advance its aggressive cause Sankar is also Chairman of Ginkgo Bioworks, a synthetic biology firm, and a trustee at the Hudson Institute, reflecting his broader interests in biotechnology and strategic policy. He is a frequent public voice on the urgent need to modernize the defense industrial base in the face of rising geopolitical threats and technological stagnation. His commissioning into the Army Reserve's Executive Innovation Corps as a lieutenant colonel represents a formal extension of his work to bridge civilian and military technology. Sankar's perspective is shaped by his belief that the US must reawaken its Cold War-era spirit of industrial mobilization. His work champions speed, utility, and interoperability in defense software, values he sees as essential for modern warfighting and deterrence. Andrew Bosworth: from sales rep to Meta's Chief Technologist Andrew Bosworth, widely known in the tech industry as 'Boz,' is Chief Technology Officer at Meta and one of the company's most senior engineering leaders. His journey from selling knives door-to-door to leading Meta 's long-term technology vision highlights a career defined by relentless execution, product innovation, and scale. Bosworth's career began not in Silicon Valley, but with a headset and a kitchen demo kit. As a field sales manager at Vector Marketing, he sold Cutco knives door-to-door during college. His ability to train, motivate, and manage sales teams, while personally driving over $40,000 in individual sales in just 12 weeks, laid an early foundation in high-performance communication and leadership. He went on to manage over 100 representatives and helped drive $1 million in summer sales, giving him a rare edge in people operations and team dynamics. He graduated from Harvard University in 2004 with an A.B. in Computer Science, concentrating on the study of mind, brain, and behavior. Post-graduation, Bosworth joined Microsoft as a software design engineer on the Visio team, contributing to layout and routing systems for a $350 million-a-year product. The role gave him deep exposure to large-scale codebases and mission-critical software design. Also read: Trump awards Boeing $20 billion contract for Air Force's next-gen F-47 fighter jet to counter China's military advances In 2006, he joined Facebook as one of its earliest engineers. He was instrumental in building core products such as News Feed, Groups, and Messaging, some of the most widely used social features in the world. Over the next 16 years, he expanded into leadership roles spanning infrastructure, machine learning, and ultimately hardware. In 2017, Bosworth was tapped to lead Meta's Reality Labs division, overseeing Oculus virtual reality development and the company's push into augmented reality. His work helped shape Meta's strategy toward immersive computing and the broader vision of the metaverse. Appointed Chief Technology Officer in January 2022, Bosworth today oversees Meta's investment in foundational technologies like AI, AR/VR, and wearable computing. He is a key driver of Meta's efforts to evolve from a social media company to a platform for spatial and intelligent computing. His recent commissioning into the US Army Reserve's Executive Innovation Corps as a lieutenant colonel reflects a growing recognition that defense transformation requires private-sector technologists with deep operating experience. Bosworth's unique combination of frontline sales, engineering discipline, and executive leadership makes him one of the rare technologists equally comfortable pitching products and building platforms that touch billions. Kevin Weil: from Twitter visionary to OpenAI's Product Strategist Kevin Weil serves as Chief Product Officer at OpenAI, bringing over a decade of experience building consumer-scale products at the intersection of data, design, and emerging technology. At OpenAI, he leads the development and delivery of AI tools like ChatGPT and the OpenAI API, helping shape how billions will interact with artificial intelligence. Also read: Drone disaster? Famed U.S. Army faces backlash as ... Weil graduated from Harvard with a degree in physics and began his career as a software engineer. He rose to prominence during his tenure at Twitter, where he served as SVP of Product, helping shape its core timeline and ads platform during a period of exponential user growth. His product leadership was marked by an emphasis on simplicity, velocity, and impact. He later held executive roles at Instagram, where he helped build Stories and explore new formats, and at Facebook's blockchain initiative, Novi. At each stop, Weil's focus has been on making cutting-edge tech accessible, intuitive, and scalable for everyday users. At OpenAI, he is responsible for translating advanced research into widely-used products. Under his guidance, the company has rapidly expanded access to AI systems through partnerships, developer platforms, and consumer apps. His product instincts play a key role in how OpenAI balances innovation with responsible deployment. Weil was recently commissioned into the US Army Reserve as part of the Executive Innovation Corps. His inclusion signals the military's intent to work with product thinkers capable of rapid iteration, interface design, and aligning advanced technology with real-world usability. Bob McGrew: from OpenAI research to strategic AI advising Bob McGrew is an AI veteran whose work spans some of the most important frontiers of machine learning and safety. As the former Chief Research Officer at OpenAI, he led research programs focused on alignment, large language models, and responsible AI deployment efforts that helped lay the groundwork for tools like GPT-4 and reinforcement learning techniques. McGrew holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University, where his research focused on algorithmic game theory and computational economics. Before OpenAI, he worked at Facebook and other Silicon Valley labs where he applied ML at scale. At OpenAI, McGrew was instrumental in setting long-term research agendas and leading collaborations with academia, government, and other research institutions. He became known for his pragmatic approach to research translation: pushing theoretical work toward real-world impact. Now an advisor at Thinking Machines Lab, a Manila-based AI consultancy, McGrew focuses on building AI solutions for development, sustainability, and national resilience. His global perspective on AI's impact makes him a valuable bridge between frontier research and practical deployment. Recently, McGrew joined the US Army Reserve's Executive Innovation Corps as a lieutenant colonel. His background in both technical research and ethical AI frameworks positions him to advise on military AI applications that are safe, explainable, and aligned with democratic values.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tech execs, Uncle Sam wants you for the US Army
The US Army announced Friday that it was forming a new "Executive Innovation Corps." It aims to recruit senior tech executives to serve as part-time advisors in the Army Reserve. The CTOs of Meta and Palantir were among the first big-name recruits. Some of the US Army's latest recruits might be a little different from those you'd normally find rocking up to basic training. The Army announced Friday that it was establishing "Detachment 201," dubbed the "Executive Innovation Corps," to bridge what it called the "commercial-military tech gap" — and that some of Silicon Valley's top executives were among the first to enlist. In a press release, the Army said Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir, Andrew Bosworth, CTO of Meta, Kevin Weil, CPO of OpenAI, and Bob McGrew, advisor at Thinking Machines Lab, would be taking the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving as part-time technical experts in the new detachment. "Det. 201 is an effort to recruit senior tech executives to serve part-time in the Army Reserve as senior advisors," the Army said. "In this role they will work on targeted projects to help guide rapid and scalable tech solutions to complex problems. By bringing private-sector know-how into uniform, Det. 201 is supercharging efforts like the Army Transformation Initiative, which aims to make the force leaner, smarter, and more lethal." In an article published in The Free Press, Sankar, who has worked at Palantir since 2006, said the quartet would focus on finding solutions to the Army's "most ambitious transformation efforts, including accelerating outcomes in human-machine integrated formations, hypersonics, and recruiting and mentoring world-class talent." He also praised what he said was another step "in the right direction" in the US's efforts to counter global threats. "The drones are swarming today. Our adversaries aren't waiting for our acquisition cycles or deferring to our budget processes," he wrote. "They're building, iterating, and preparing for war." The Army's move comes as part of a wider push to transform the force and reimagine how it fights, trains, and procures equipment. The "Army Transformation Initiative," outlined in May, will see the Army "eliminate waste and obsolete programs" and focus on developing and integrating emerging technologies. Investors have been pouring cash into the defense tech industry since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Trump has sought to revamp and modernize defense acquisitions since his return, helping fuel venture capital momentum. 2025 has already seen a number of huge deals, including maritime startup Saronic Technologies raising a $600 million Series C at a $4 billion valuation and drone company Epirus securing a $250 million Series D. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Tech execs, Uncle Sam wants you for the US Army
Some of the US Army's latest recruits might be a little different from those you'd normally find rocking up to basic training. The Army announced Friday that it was establishing "Detachment 201," dubbed the "Executive Innovation Corps," to bridge what it called the "commercial-military tech gap" — and that some of Silicon Valley's top executives were among the first to enlist. In a press release, the Army said Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir, Andrew Bosworth, CTO of Meta, Kevin Weil, CPO of OpenAI, and Bob McGrew, advisor at Thinking Machines Lab, would be taking the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving as part-time technical experts in the new detachment. "Det. 201 is an effort to recruit senior tech executives to serve part-time in the Army Reserve as senior advisors," the Army said. "In this role they will work on targeted projects to help guide rapid and scalable tech solutions to complex problems. By bringing private-sector know-how into uniform, Det. 201 is supercharging efforts like the Army Transformation Initiative, which aims to make the force leaner, smarter, and more lethal." In an article published in The Free Press, Sankar, who has worked at Palantir since 2006, said the quartet would focus on finding solutions to the Army's "most ambitious transformation efforts, including accelerating outcomes in human-machine integrated formations, hypersonics, and recruiting and mentoring world-class talent." He also praised what he said was another step "in the right direction" in the US's efforts to counter global threats. "The drones are swarming today. Our adversaries aren't waiting for our acquisition cycles or deferring to our budget processes," he wrote. "They're building, iterating, and preparing for war." The Army's move comes as part of a wider push to transform the force and reimagine how it fights, trains, and procures equipment. The "Army Transformation Initiative," outlined in May, will see the Army "eliminate waste and obsolete programs" and focus on developing and integrating emerging technologies. Investors have been pouring cash into the defense tech industry since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Trump has sought to revamp and modernize defense acquisitions since his return, helping fuel venture capital momentum. 2025 has already seen a number of huge deals, including maritime startup Saronic Technologies raising a $600 million Series C at a $4 billion valuation and Drone company Epirus securing a $250 million Series D.
