Acquisition
Microsoft makes Copilot available to secure cloud customers
The General Services Administration previously reached an agreement with Microsoft to offer its services to agencies at discounted rates. The latest announcement makes Copilot available to government customers in GCC-High.
Artificial Intelligence
AWS announces new AI Factories to reduce infrastructure barriers for public, private sector
AWS and NVIDIA have teamed up to offer public and private sector partners access to bespoke artificial intelligence resources.
Acquisition
SAP offers major discount to government customers through OneGov agreement
Discounted software could generate as much as $165 million in savings for agencies over the next 18 months, GSA estimates.
Emerging Tech
AWS to invest $50B in AI and supercomputing infrastructure for government customers
Amazon Web Services is granting government expanded access to its tech products offerings while scaling the infrastructure required to support it.
Cybersecurity
SEC to drop high-profile SolarWinds hack lawsuit
The landmark lawsuit garnered pushback from dozens of cybersecurity leaders last year.
Cybersecurity
Senators expect 10-year extension of cyber data-sharing law in future budget package
The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 got a temporary reprieve after the government reopened this month, but it risks lapsing again at the end of January.
Modernization
One-stop shopping for counter-drone gear is aim of joint task force
The Army-led effort is also working on policy for buying and deploying C-UAS systems stateside.
Emerging Tech
11 companies move to second stage of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative
The selected companies will undergo evaluation to determine if their concepts for a viable quantum computer can be constructed and work as intended.
Digital Government
IRS returns to relying on tax prep companies for free filing options without Direct File
A new report from the tax agency that was requested by congressional Republicans said that dropping Direct File “is in the best interests of American taxpayers and the IRS.”
Modernization
Experts see promise, risk in Pentagon’s draft acquisition reforms
A draft memo is circulating ahead of SecDef Hegseth’s Friday speech.
Artificial Intelligence
Lawmakers propose requiring agencies, major firms to report AI’s job impact
A new bill from Sens. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., would direct covered entities to provide quarterly reports to the Labor Department detailing layoffs and workforce displacements caused by uses of AI.
Policy
House Republican questions government stake in tech companies
Georgia Congressman Rich McCormick disputed the Trump administration’s approach to investing in the private sector while aligning with its broader low-regulatory regime.
Emerging Tech
D-Wave makes its quantum annealers available for national security work
Quantum computing company D-Wave has installed one of its quantum annealers alongside Davidson Technologies for federal customers to access.
Exclusive
Acquisition
Transportation awards Google major contract after ‘OneGov’ deal
The five-year contract for Google’s Workspace software suite has a ceiling of $89 million.
Emerging Tech
NVIDIA announces new quantum-integrated computing architecture
Company CEO Jensen Huang unveiled NVIDIA’s new hybrid computing architecture, NVQLink, on Tuesday, as well as the deployment of two new supercomputers at Argonne National Laboratory.
Artificial Intelligence
NVIDIA, Booz Allen launch AI-ready wireless stack for 6G
The chipmaker is pitching its new wireless technology as the future of advanced AI deployment, particularly in federal workloads.
Artificial Intelligence
Even if you’re furloughed, your skills don’t have to be
Google is stepping up with the launch of an entire set of free online courses to teach people, including furloughed feds, how to use AI to boost productivity and prepare for what’s next.
Artificial Intelligence
Inside Mission Daybreak: VA’s effort to support innovative suicide prevention
VA’s director of data and analytics innovation said the program “is looking for what is the right solution for the ways that we want to optimize care, and sometimes that's technology, and sometimes it isn't.”
Artificial Intelligence
Anthropic CEO defends support for AI regulations, alignment with Trump policies
Following the White House AI and crypto czar’s critique of Anthropic’s regulatory perspective, the company’s CEO noted that it is committed to speaking honestly about AI’s risks and benefits.
Defense