If there is one thing that’s emerging as a trend this fall, it’s some high-powered collabs. Yesterday, at the annual Air, Space & Cyber conference, Boeing’s defense and space arm (BDS) and Palantir inked a partnership to “integrate artificial intelligence (AI) systems and software” across Boeing’s factories and programs.
Boeing will use Palantir’s Foundry—like so many teeny tiny defense tech startups before them—to streamline and modernize production processes for “military aircraft, helicopters, satellites, spacecraft, missiles and weapons.”
Everyone really is jumping on the defense tech train, it seems.
Brainy: Most of you probably don’t need a primer on Palantir (looking at you, lucky shareholders), but for the uninitiated: If Palantir is a data superhero, Foundry is the tool that lets private companies tap into its powers. The AI-powered operating system can integrate and analyze masses of data, helping companies streamline operations and bring things like manufacturing into the 21st century.
- Companies from Shield AI, to Vatn Systems, to Voyager Space have all teamed up with Palantir to use Foundry.
- A whole slew of defense tech companies (including Anduril, Saronic, and Saildrone) have also joined Palantir’s Warp Speed program, the manufacturing-specific optimization tool built on top of Foundry.
Turbulence: The Boeing partnership comes as the struggling aerospace company has gotten a bit of a lucky break this year. Despite some, erm, high-profile losses (of door plugs, for example) in recent years, Trump tapped Boeing to build America’s F-47 next-generation fighter back in March, beating out Lockheed Martin.
But that doesn’t mean all is well on the home front: Things like the door plug incident on an Alaska Airlines flight last year, widely documented issues with the company’s 737 MAX aircraft, and loads of strikes have raised concerns over the company’s manufacturing capabilities and safety standards.
- The company submitted a safety improvement plan to the FAA last year, which leadership says they’re making progress on.
- On the defense side, in May, the company resumed delivery of the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker to the U.S. Air Force after finding cracks in at least two new aircraft this year.
- Despite improvements in production reported last quarter, the company’s financials remain mixed: Shares are up 33 percent YoY, and the company reported lower-than-expected losses last quarter, but is still facing some delays on aircraft certification, for example.
Buddy buddy: It seems the Palantir partnership, then, is an attempt to get Boeing’s manufacturing ducks in a row. In a statement, the aerospace company said that the partnership will “help standardize data analytics and insights across [BDS’] geographically dispersed family of defense factories.”
“Palantir is on the cutting edge when it comes to leveraging Artificial Intelligence to accelerate getting critical products, services and capabilities in the hands of military operators,” said Steve Parker, CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Palantir will also “provide AI expertise and capabilities on a number of undisclosed classified and proprietary efforts focused on supporting military customers’ most sensitive missions.” Mysterious, indeed.