Technology
'Patriot entrepreneurs' fight against DOD bureaucracy to green light future tech: defense expert
Military leaders have bought into advanced tech that “patriotic entrepreneurs” are inventing, but the Pentagon’s bureaucratic slog has created major challenges to getting those innovations onto the battlefield, according to a defense expert.
“Now we have this thing where this great landscape of patriot entrepreneurs that are devoting their whole life to building cool tech that helps the broader citizenry,” said Doug Philippone, who invests in defense tech through his firm Snowpoint Ventures. The real challenge, he told Fox News, is getting the Department of Defense to adopt the inventions at a competitive speed.
“That’s something that the DOD is just — I’m just thinking of some word to insult them — but they just cannot do it,” Philippone said.
WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE
Pentagon spokesperson Jeff Jurgensen, however, noted the speed DOD has moved since Russia invaded Ukraine and pointed to strategies military initiated this year and last to expand the defense industrial base.
“DOD remains committed to using the full range of acquisition and contracting tools Congress has provided in order to deliver capabilities that outpace the current and future threat environment — quickly, cost-effectively, and most importantly, at scale,” Jurgensen said. “Since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, DOD has shown it can — and is — moving rapidly, having obligated more than $30 [billion] on contract under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and to replace equipment drawn down from U.S. stocks.”
“Contracts that used to take months are being awarded in a matter of weeks,” Jurgensen added. “For example, a contract to accelerate Stinger production was awarded in just 22 days.”
Philippone, who’s headed Palantir’s Global Defense team since 2008, has a history of casting blunt judgment on the Pentagon, particularly when it comes to acquisition.
PENTAGON TURNS TO SILICON VALLEY TO ACCELERATE AI TECH DEVELOPMENT, ADOPTION: REPORT
Doug Philippone believes Gecko Robotics’ devices, which can crawl over infrastructure in order to identify and predict weak points, could save the Navy significant taxpayer money. (Courtesy of Snowpoint Ventures)
“We started out politely, but now our basic message to them is, ‘What you’re asking for won’t work and will waste money, so you’re either stupid or corrupt,’” Philippone told Fortune in 2017 as Palantir was fighting to upend how the Defense Department doles out contracts.
In one legal filing, Palantir called the Pentagon officials “irrational,” driven by “a desire to cover up the failures of their own program” and motivated by “an instinct to preserve relationships with entrenched ‘inside the Beltway’ contractors (and perhaps the ‘revolving door’ relationships often entailed in those relationships,” Fortune reported.
While he told Fox News he owned those words, admitting he “was a younger, more immature version” of himself, Philippone also said he and Palantir “were fighting like hell to break in just to give soldiers something that they were already asking for, and bureaucrats were blocking us.”
HOW A LIZARD-LIKE ROBOT COULD HELP THE NAVY ‘PREVENT CATASTROPHES’: DECORATED VETERAN
“They were reinforcing failing instead of buying something that the soldiers were saying, ‘this works,” continued Philippone, an Army veteran who commanded multiple Joint Special Operations Command outstations. “It’s cheaper, faster, better, and just out of stubbornness [the bureaucrats] just weren’t doing it.”
Pentagon bureaucrats created time-consuming hurdles that make it challenging for stat-ups to get innovative, effective and cheap tech to the troops, Doug Philippone says. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
At the time, the Pentagon had decided to update what Fortune called “a deeply flawed system” created by some of the staple D.C. beltway defense contracts, including Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Palantir, a young outsider, was blocked from bidding on the contract.
Philippone said the specs on Palantir’s product “would lead a normal person to believe that you should just buy this thing.”
“But sometimes the Department of Defense does things, or the broader government does things that, you know, are not what normal citizens would think were rational decisions,” he told Fox News.
‘THIS SCARES ME’: AS CHINA WATCHES, THIS DECORATED VETERAN SOUNDS ALARM ON AN AMERICA STRETCHED TO ITS LIMITS
Since then, military leadership has accepted that start-ups can deliver game-changing tech, but “it’s still harder than it needs to be by a long shot,” Philippone said.
A firm within Snowpoint Ventures’ portfolio, Shield AI, developed the V-BAT. The drone, capable of vertical take off, can complete its missions even in warzones where comma or GPS is cut. (Courtesy of Snowpoint Ventures)
“I do think that the leadership landscape across the broader government, for the most part and across the DOD, for the most part, has bought into this,” he continued. “It’s just that either the frozen middle or the bureaucratic state, whatever you want to call it—we got to get through that.”
It’s not just about Palantir and Snowpoint or its portfolio, Philippone said. A number of smaller firms are pushing to sell better —and cheaper — equipment to the military and “to help out the world.”
“Is it going to be hard? Yes,” Philippone added. “But I guess that’s my raison d’etre.”
This week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon.
Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every LAWFUL purpose in defense of the Republic.
Instead, @AnthropicAI and its CEO @DarioAmodei, have chosen duplicity. Cloaked in the sanctimonious rhetoric of “effective altruism,” they have attempted to strong-arm the United States military into submission – a cowardly act of corporate virtue-signaling that places Silicon Valley ideology above American lives.
The Terms of Service of Anthropic’s defective altruism will never outweigh the safety, the readiness, or the lives of American troops on the battlefield.
Their true objective is unmistakable: to seize veto power over the operational decisions of the United States military. That is unacceptable.
As President Trump stated on Truth Social, the Commander-in-Chief and the American people alone will determine the destiny of our armed forces, not unelected tech executives.
Anthropic’s stance is fundamentally incompatible with American principles. Their relationship with the United States Armed Forces and the Federal Government has therefore been permanently altered.
In conjunction with the President’s directive for the Federal Government to cease all use of Anthropic’s technology, I am directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security. Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic. Anthropic will continue to provide the Department of War its services for a period of no more than six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better and more patriotic service.
America’s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This decision is final.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
When you open a chatbot, stream a show or back up photos to the cloud, you are tapping into a vast network of data centers. These facilities power artificial intelligence, search engines and online services we use every day. Now there is a growing debate over who should pay for the electricity those data centers consume.
During President Trump’s State of the Union address this week, he introduced a new initiative called the “ratepayer protection pledge” to shift AI-driven electricity costs away from consumers. The core idea is simple.
Tech companies that run energy-intensive AI data centers should cover the cost of the extra electricity they require rather than passing those costs on to everyday customers through higher utility rates.
It sounds simple. The hard part is what happens next.
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.
At the State of the Union address Feb. 24, 2026, President Trump unveiled the “ratepayer protection pledge” aimed at shielding consumers from rising electricity costs tied to AI data centers. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Why AI is driving a surge in electricity demand
AI systems require enormous computing power. That computing power requires enormous electricity. Today’s data centers can consume as much power as a small city. As AI tools expand across business, healthcare, finance and consumer apps, energy demand has risen sharply in certain regions.
Utilities have warned that the current grid in many parts of the country was not built for this level of concentrated demand. Upgrading substations, transmission lines and generation capacity costs money. Traditionally, those costs can influence rates paid by homes and small businesses. That is where the pledge comes in.
What the ratepayer protection pledge is designed to do
Under the ratepayer protection pledge, large technology companies would:
- Cover the full cost of additional electricity tied to their data centers
- Build their own on-site power generation to reduce strain on the public grid
Supporters say this approach separates residential energy costs from large-scale AI expansion. In other words, your household bill should not rise simply because a new AI data center opens nearby. So far, Anthropic is the clearest public backer. CyberGuy reached out to Anthropic for a comment on its role in the pledge. A company spokesperson referred us to a tweet from Anthropic Head of External Affairs Sarah Heck.
“American families shouldn’t pick up the tab for AI,” Heck wrote in a post on X. “In support of the White House ratepayer protection pledge, Anthropic has committed to covering 100% of electricity price increases that consumers face from our data centers.”
That makes Anthropic one of the first major AI companies to publicly state it will absorb consumer electricity price increases tied to its data center operations. Other major firms may be close behind. The White House reportedly plans to host Microsoft, Meta and Anthropic in early March to discuss formalizing a broader deal, though attendance and final terms have not been confirmed publicly.
Microsoft also expressed support for the initiative.
“The ratepayer protection pledge is an important step,” Brad Smith, Microsoft vice chair and president, said in a statement to CyberGuy. “We appreciate the administration’s work to ensure that data centers don’t contribute to higher electricity prices for consumers.”
Industry groups also point to companies such as Google and utilities including Duke Energy and Georgia Power as making consumer-focused commitments tied to data center growth. However, enforcement mechanisms and long-term regulatory details remain unclear.
CHINA VS SPACEX IN RACE FOR SPACE AI DATA CENTERS
The White House plans talks with Microsoft, Meta and Anthropic about shifting AI energy costs away from consumers. (Eli Hiller/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
How this could change the economics of AI
AI infrastructure is already one of the most expensive technology buildouts in history. Companies are investing billions in chips, servers and real estate. If firms must also finance dedicated power plants or pay premium rates for grid upgrades, the cost of running AI systems increases further. That could lead to:
- Slower expansion in some markets
- Greater investment in renewable energy and storage
- More partnerships between tech firms and utilities
Energy strategy may become just as important as computing strategy. For consumers, this shift signals that electricity is now a central part of the AI conversation. AI is no longer only about software. It is also about infrastructure.
The bigger consumer tech picture
AI is becoming embedded in smartphones, search engines, office software and home devices. As adoption grows, so does the hidden infrastructure supporting it. Energy is now part of the conversation around everyday technology. Every AI-generated image, voice command or cloud backup depends on a power-hungry network of servers.
By asking companies to account more directly for their electricity use, policymakers are acknowledging a new reality. The digital world runs on very physical resources. For you, that shift could mean more transparency. It also raises new questions about sustainability, local impact and long-term costs.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HELPS FUEL NEW ENERGY SOURCES
As AI expansion strains the grid, a new proposal would require tech firms to fund their own power needs. (Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images)
What this means for you
If you are a homeowner or renter, the practical question is simple. Will this protect my electric bill? In theory, separating data center energy costs from residential rates could reduce the risk of price spikes tied to AI growth. If companies fund their own generation or grid upgrades, utilities may have less reason to spread those costs among all customers.
That said, utility pricing is complex. It depends on state regulators, long-term planning and local energy markets.
Here is what you can watch for in your area:
- New data center construction announcements
- Utility filings that mention large commercial load growth
- Public service commission decisions on rate adjustments
Even if you rarely use AI tools, your community could feel the effects of a nearby data center. The pledge is intended to keep those large-scale power demands from showing up in your monthly bill.
Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?
Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com.
Kurt’s key takeaways
The ratepayer protection pledge highlights an important turning point. AI is no longer only about innovation and speed. It is also about energy and accountability. If tech companies truly absorb the cost of their expanding power needs, households may avoid some of the financial strain tied to rapid AI growth. If not, utility bills could become an unexpected front line in the AI era.
As AI tools become part of daily life, how much extra power are you willing to support to keep them running? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.
Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Related Article
Amazon has slowly been teasing out casting details for its live-action adaptation of God of War, and now we have our first look at the show. It’s a single image but a notable one showing protagonist Kratos and his son Atreus. The characters are played by Ryan Hurst and Callum Vinson, respectively, and they look relatively close to their video game counterparts.
There aren’t a lot of other details about the show just yet, but this is Amazon’s official description:
The God of War series storyline follows father and son Kratos and Atreus as they embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.
That sounds a lot like the recent soft reboot of the franchise, which started with 2018’s God of War and continued through Ragnarök in 2022. For the Amazon series, Ronald D. Moore, best-known for his work on For All Mankind and Battlestar Galactica, will serve as showrunner. The rest of the cast includes: Mandy Patinkin (Odin), Ed Skrein (Baldur), Max Parker (Heimdall), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Thor), Teresa Palmer (Sif), Alastair Duncan (Mimir), Jeff Gulka (Sindri), and Danny Woodburn (Brok).
While production is underway on the God of War series, there’s no word on when it might start streaming.
Golf roundup: Austin Smotherman plays ‘boring, simple’ to expand lead in Florida
Ga. lawmakers propose changes to state’s early voting process
No. 3 Rainbow Warriors continue winning ways against No. 6 BYU | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Town Hall to address future of Medicaid expansion in Idaho – Local News 8
Takeaways: Michigan basketball ends Illinois streak, wins Big Ten
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
ICE blasts Washington mayor over directive restricting immigration enforcement
Did the EU bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s €90 billion loan?
How the federal government is painting immigrants as criminals on social media
Where Iran’s ballistic missiles can reach — and how close they are to the US
Has India’s influence in Afghanistan grown under the Taliban?
-
World2 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Denver, CO2 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology7 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology7 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics7 days agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT