Who is buying AI data services in the defense sector across the US and NATO allies. Verified deal sizes, program names, and the entry conditions SmartOne would face for each buyer. Dormant until the founders decide to activate Phase 3.
| Buyer | Program | Verified value | Year | Scope relevant to SmartOne |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pentagon CDAO Chief Digital and AI Office |
Scale AI OTA (Production Other Transaction Authority) | $500M ceiling | May 2026 | Computer vision, GenAI decision support, data operations across military branches. Scale AI is current incumbent. Re-compete potential when contract ceiling is reached or conflict concerns force competitive open. |
| Pentagon CDAO | Alpha-1 Data Labeling as a Service | $582M FY25 request | 2024-ongoing | Enterprise portfolio for AI infrastructure across all military departments. First capability made available was data labeling as a service. Users include Navy Project Harbinger, Coast Guard maritime object detection, Marine Corps Smart Sensor program. |
| Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) | Thunderforge | Multimillion (undisclosed) | March 2025 | AI agents for theater-level planning at INDOPACOM and EUCOM. Scale AI as prime, Anduril and Microsoft as partners. Scope is operational planning, not direct data annotation. Tangential to SmartOne's core service. |
| US Air Force | SAOC Agentic AI Support | $32M | 2025 | AI support for Survivable Airborne Operations Center. Scale AI. Narrow scope. Illustrates that individual service branches procure AI support independently of CDAO. |
| Air Force Research Lab | Science and Technology MAC | $10B ceiling IDIQ | 2025 | Multi-contractor IDIQ for R&D services including AI and data science. A ceiling, not a committed award. Six contractors on the vehicle. Entry point for a cleared SmartOne US subsidiary if built; not accessible today. |
| US Army | R&D Partnership (Scale AI) | $250M reported | 2024-2025 | Research and development partnership. Scale AI. Scope not fully disclosed. |
| Country / Buyer | Program | Value | Year | Notes for SmartOne |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Ministry of Defence | Asgard AI targeting framework | 4-year framework, 26 firms | Oct 2024 | Five lots: data integration, accelerators, applications, edge storage and compute, services. 26 companies awarded including Anduril, Helsing, QinetiQ. Framework serves UK MoD's goal to "deliver a tenfold increase in lethality." Entry requires UK entity or UK-prime sub arrangement. SmartOne has no UK entity. |
| NATO / SHAPE | Maven Smart System | Not disclosed | April 2025 | NATO selected Palantir's Maven Smart System for military planning. Relevant context: SmartOne's Palantir annotation history means SmartOne's data quality processes have passed Palantir's standards. If Palantir expands Maven-related data annotation work through its network, SmartOne is a credentialed sub. |
| French DGA Direction Generale de l'Armement |
AMIAD sovereign AI integration | 50M euro (Airbus framework) | Dec 2025 | Airbus Defence and Space awarded 50M euro framework to integrate AI into French armed forces information systems. SmartOne's existing Safran relationship and SMARTONE EU SAS entity make a sub arrangement to a French prime conceptually feasible. This is the lightest-prerequisite defense entry point for SmartOne: no US cleared entity required for work done through a French prime for French defense. |
| Australia ASCA Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator |
Decision Advantage EDT | AUD 40M (14 contracts) | 2024 | Machine reasoning, automated data integration, AI across universities and private companies. Australia is a Five Eyes nation. An Australian entry would require a separate entity and FOCI-equivalent Australian security review (though AUKUS alignment eases this). Not a near-term SmartOne path. |
| Canada DND / DIA | Defence Industrial Strategy + PacifiCan AI | CAD 13.8M (March 2026) | 2026 | Canada's first Defence Industrial Strategy targets 70% domestic acquisition. Five BC AI and aerospace companies received CAD 13.8M in March 2026. SmartOne as a Canadian-incorporated entity would qualify for DND domestic procurement without FOCI overhead. This is the lowest-friction defense adjacency: Canadian defense, not US cleared work, no Madagascar workforce limitations for unclassified data annotation. |
Requires US cleared subsidiary, FOCI mitigation (SSA or Proxy Agreement), Facility Security Clearance, and cleared US annotation workforce. Timeline: 3-5 years. Madagascar workforce unavailable for classified or ITAR-controlled data. Scale AI is entrenched as the current primary vendor.
No US cleared entity required. A UK entity or arrangement with a UK prime is the entry mechanism. The Palantir Maven connection is a soft credential but not a contract vehicle. The Asgard framework is awarded; new entrants would wait for the next iteration or seek a subcontract under one of the 26 awarded firms.
SMARTONE EU SAS already exists. Safran is a current client. Airbus received the DGA framework; a sub arrangement with Safran or Airbus for French defense AI annotation does not require a US cleared entity. GDPR and EU AI Act compliance (which SmartOne's certifications already satisfy) are the primary gates. The Madagascar workforce can be used for non-French-classified data.
Canadian domestic defense procurement with a Canadian CCPC entity faces no FOCI requirement (no US involvement). The new Defence Industrial Strategy prioritizes Canadian companies. SmartOne with a Quebec CCPC entity can bid directly on DND and DIA work without a firewall structure. The scale is smaller (CAD 13.8M vs. US $500M programs), but the activation cost is near-zero relative to the US path.
In May 2026, all five Five Eyes nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, US) jointly published guidance on the secure deployment of agentic AI. The guidance reflects that FVEY nations treat each other's AI security postures as more interoperable than with other allies.
For SmartOne: Canada's FVEY membership means a Canadian parent company seeking an SSA for a US subsidiary would face a meaningfully shorter review than a non-FVEY parent company seeking the same. The Canadian element of SmartOne's structure is the easier part of this story. The Malagasy operating presence is the harder part.