AI technology can gain insight into Pentagon spending.

For various reasons, while U.S. defense spending is nominally transparent, it's not easy to know exactly what they're spending it on.

While lawmakers and Pentagon officials push for reforms to the defense procurement system, a small tech company is expanding a data analytics platform that it says can provide Pentagon partners with the information they need to more effectively manage the U.S. Department of Defense 's nearly trillion-dollar budget.

Using this AI, U.S. lawmakers can monitor whether their military is using funds approved by both houses of Congress for the right purposes. On the other hand, military officials can also know what they need to focus their procurement efforts on, and when. Naturally, this also helps military contractors know where to concentrate their competitive efforts.

Possessing the world's largest military, the United States consistently spends enormous sums on defense. (Illustrative image)

Obviant was founded in 2023 and developed a defense procurement platform as a means to help both the Department of Defense and the defense industry better understand how the Pentagon spends money and what stakeholders in Congress and within the department are prioritizing.

To navigate that system, you typically have to sift through thousands of PDF pages that make up the Department of Defense's budget request, track congressional markings through multiple committees, and monitor the status of a $150 billion budget reconciliation bill.

“There is no source of truth. There is no map to it,” Obviant founder and CEO Brendan Karp told Defense News in an interview. “All this information is just a collection of structured and unstructured sources.”

Obviant's AI system will capture all Pentagon budgets and expenditures to support managers and defense contractors.

Their AI system will collect all that complex data, analyzing and cross-referencing it like a giant intelligence agency. Through this analysis, their AI can determine how much money the Pentagon is allocated and where it is being spent.

This AI is so sophisticated that it can even compare public statements from Pentagon officials with actual information to see if the money is being used as claimed.

Obviant has received a $7 million seed grant that the company will use to enhance the capabilities of its AI-based platform and make it available to more users.

"With this recent funding, Obviant will expand its team, enhance the platform's AI capabilities, and broaden its customer base—transforming how companies, investors, and government leaders make more informed decisions across the entire defense sector," Obviant said in a statement.

The system aggregates the total budget (left) and analyzes all expenditure sources (right).

The funding round was led by Shield Capital, a venture capital firm headed by former Department of Defense and defense industry experts, focused on early-stage companies developing AI, automation, networking, and space capabilities.

Karp and his team launched their platform last year and are targeting several key customer groups: investors trying to understand where the department is focusing its funding, companies trying to sell to the military, congressional staff tracking the Department of Defense's funding priorities and program offices, and procurement leaders at the Pentagon trying to transfer technology into the field.

Karp stated that for all these users, Obviant will pull data from open-source budget documents, allocations and contract notices, as well as any separate customer data, and find commonalities within them.

Obviant's AI-powered platform changes that, bringing transparency and real-time context to the defense procurement ecosystem.

By gathering and consolidating data from thousands of sources—such as program documents, defense budget justification books, and congressional reports—it provides a comprehensive and coherent picture of procurement, contracting, and budgeting information across the Department of Defense.

A table detailing the Pentagon's spending on hypersonic weapons. Photo: Business Insider.

Furthermore, this data can be aggregated by missions or programs such as contested logistics or Golden Dome, highlighting opportunities. Obviant combines open-source intelligence (OSINT) and customer-specific data with AI-driven context and reasoning to transform defense procurement, giving customers a decisive edge in understanding and pursuing opportunities.

Obviant's clients include high-growth defense startups, leading companies, global investment firms, defense consulting firms, research groups, and numerous government agencies, all seeking faster and smarter ways to navigate and understand the more than $1 trillion U.S. defense market.

The company provides information on the amount of money this division invests in certain capabilities or uses certain contractual instruments. The company can also track trends, such as whether the Department of Defense's public statements match actual spending.

The company has achieved success in its first few years of operation, recently securing its first government contract with several innovation organizations within the Department of Defence.

While lawmakers are calling for reforms to the defense procurement system and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pushing for faster and more efficient arms purchases, Karp said he sees a role the company has in driving progress in those areas.

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