Defense artificial intelligence is emerging as the next battleground in the AI market, as recent international conflicts including the Russia-Ukraine war and Middle East hostilities have shown that victory hinges less on firepower than on how quickly data can be analyzed and deployed. Major Big Tech firms are now expanding into defense and security to stake out early positions in the market.
According to Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and other foreign media on the 31st, the U.S. Department of Defense (Department of War) earlier this month signed AI agreements for classified operations with SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. The Pentagon said it would integrate advanced AI technology into classified networks to accelerate the U.S. military's transition into an "AI-first warfighting force."
Big Tech's focus on the defense market reflects AI's growing role as core infrastructure in modern warfare. As data collected from satellites, drones and reconnaissance assets surges, the ability to analyze it in real time and apply it to decision-making has emerged as a key war-fighting capability. Citing U.S. and Israeli defense officials, the WSJ reported that "human analysts can review at most about 4% of the intelligence collected," adding that "many operations were not carried out due to a shortage of analysts."
The company drawing the most attention amid this trend is Palantir, the U.S. AI defense firm. Palantir has grown into a leading player in the defense AI market by building platforms that integrate and analyze vast troves of military data to support commanders' decisions. Last year, it signed an enterprise contract with the U.S. Army worth up to $10 billion (about 15 trillion won) over the next decade. The deal is seen as evidence that AI-driven data platforms are becoming the core infrastructure of future battlefields.
AI defense startups are also growing rapidly. Anduril has emerged as a rising force in the U.S. defense market with its AI-based surveillance and reconnaissance systems, while Shield AI secured a $12.7 billion valuation in a funding round in March. Silicon Valley capital that had been concentrated on generative AI is increasingly flowing into defense AI firms, observers say.
Industry watchers expect Naver's defense AI push to follow a similar path. Rather than simply supplying AI models, the company is expected to build a platform that integrates and analyzes battlefield maps, reconnaissance imagery, military communications and various sensor data to support commanders' decisions. "The essence of defense AI is not about building weapons but about how quickly data can be analyzed and used," an industry official said. "Naver also appears to be aiming to build a platform that integrates and analyzes battlefield data."
