Google withdraws its bid for Pentagon's $10 billion cloud contract
The Pentagon is currently soliciting bids for a $10 billion cloud computing contract that will involve shifting vast troves of data from the Department of Defense to a commercial cloud. Google was one of the tech giants angling for the project, along with Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, and others, but today the company announced that it is withdrawing its bid.
Without going into details, Google said that the contract doesn't "align" with the company's AI principles. This isn't the first time Google pulled out of a government contract; earlier this year, the company ceased its role in the Pentagon's Project Maven AI drone project after continued backlash from its employees.
Shortly thereafter, Google published a set of AI principles that guide how the company uses its AI tools. In a statement to Bloomberg, a Google spokesman said:
Google said that it would have competed for "portions" of the contract, but with the Pentagon seeking a single vendor, the company had no option but to withdraw its bid:
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Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor overseeing Asia at Android Central. He leads the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, contributing to reviews, features, and buying guides. He also writes about storage servers, audio products, and the semiconductor industry. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.