US to Deploy AI Systems on Classified Networks - China Focuses on Own Domestic AI Stack
Weekly Sensemaking — Geopolitics of AI — 2026-04-28 to 2026-05-04
Executive Summary
This week confirmed the core thesis of Geopolitics of AI: the AI race is increasingly decided by who can operationalize, not just invent.
The most important development was the Pentagon’s classified network agreements with leading U.S. frontier and infrastructure firms — OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, SpaceX/xAI, and Reflection AI — with Anthropic excluded amid a dispute over acceptable military use. This is a category-breaking event because it turns private frontier AI systems into components of state capability.
The second signal came from China. DeepSeek’s V4 launch and Huawei Ascend demand show Beijing moving from rhetoric about self-reliance to a more concrete domestic AI stack. Major Chinese firms are reportedly seeking Huawei Ascend processors after DeepSeek’s Huawei-optimized model launch, while Huawei expects a major jump in AI chip revenue.
The third signal is industrial. Samsung and...
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