Labelbox Secures $950M US Air Force JADC2 Contract

The U.S. Air Force has awarded data training company Labelbox a $950 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Joint All-Domain Command and Control efforts.

Labelbox will mature, demonstrate and proliferate artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities across platforms and domains. The company will use open systems, modern software and algorithm development solutions to support the Air Force’s JADC2 contribution.

The contract is part of a multiple-award JADC2 effort, Labelbox said Thursday.

Manu Sharma, the CEO and co-founder of Labelbox, said AI and ML capabilities are essential in enabling cross-domain and all-domain operations. Sharma stated that the contractor will work to allow machines to detect patterns and make determinations from sensor data.

JADC2 is the Department of Defense’s vision for a cloud-like environment connecting sensors from all military services into a single network. Kim Crider, the former chief technology and innovation officer at the U.S. Space Force and a former Potomac Officers Club speaker, said in a FedScoop interview that while the Pentagon continues to work on JADC2, there are still various cultural and technological challenges that must be overcome.

Crider added that the DOD must build an infrastructure to bring disparate networks and technologies together.

Labelbox offers data cataloging, annotation, modeling and labeling services to clients in the defense, intelligence, health care and manufacturing sectors. It is headquartered in San Francisco.