Schmidt, who was the CEO of Google until 2011 and later served as the chairman of the Department of Defense's Innovation Board, has been involved in AI-powered combat drones for several years. He believes that AI has the potential to revolutionize the US military's equipment, comparing its impact to that of nuclear weapons in the 1930s.
Key takeaways:
- Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is reportedly building a military startup called White Stork, which plans to produce AI attack drones.
- New details about the project, such as its name, have emerged since Forbes first reported on it earlier this month.
- White Stork was initially an LLC called Swift Beat Holdings but changed its name to White Stork Group last September. Swift Beat is owned by holding company Volya Robotics OÜ, where Schmidt has been the sole beneficial owner since last September.
- Schmidt has previously expressed his belief in the potential of AI to revolutionize US military equipment, stating that AI-powered autonomy and decentralized, distributed systems could be as impactful as nuclear weapons were.