Report: OpenAI hires former defense secretary Mark Esper to expand its military AI work
rohanpaul_ai · x · 2026-11-03
OpenAI has reportedly hired Mark Esper, Donald Trump's former defense secretary, to help expand its military AI business. Esper ran the US Army from 2017 to 2019 and led the Pentagon until being fired in November 2020, and previously spent 7 years in government relations at Raytheon, giving him deep weapons-procurement experience. He also backed the Pentagon's early AI efforts as defense secretary — a sign OpenAI is accelerating its push into defense with well-connected Washington hires.
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