The two most powerful AI companies in the US have been selling their models to Chinese firms that appear on the Pentagon’s blacklist. That’s the kind of sentence that makes export control hawks lose sleep.
OpenAI and Google, the companies leading the global AI race and positioning themselves as critical national security partners, have reportedly provided their AI technology to Chinese companies that the Department of Defense has flagged as having ties to China’s military.
The uncomfortable contradiction
Both companies have spent considerable energy courting Washington. OpenAI has pitched itself as essential to American AI dominance, while Google has deepened its relationships with defense and intelligence agencies. The idea that their models ended up in the hands of Pentagon-blacklisted entities undermines that entire narrative.
The Pentagon’s blacklist, formally known as the “Section 1260H list,” identifies companies the DoD believes are connected to China’s military-industrial complex. Being on that list doesn’t automatically trigger sanctions or export restrictions, but it serves as a flashing warning sign for American companies doing business with those entities.
