The U.S. Army awarded defense tech startup Anduril Industries a sole-source contract worth up to $20 billion over 10 years for AI command systems, drones, sentry towers, and loitering munitions. Days before the announcement, Joshua Kushner's venture firm Thrive Capital co-led a $4 billion funding round for Anduril at a roughly $60 billion valuation. Joshua Kushner is Jared Kushner's younger brother. Jared holds no official position but serves as Trump's informal Middle East envoy.
The contract was awarded under a sole-source framework, bypassing normal competitive bidding. The public notice gave vendors only three weeks over the holiday period to respond; only one of four respondents replied, confirming they couldn't match Anduril. Large portions of the full contract are redacted.
Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey hosted $100,000-per-ticket Trump fundraisers and donated to dozens of Republican candidates. Co-founder Trae Stephens served on Trump's 2016 transition team and was reportedly considered for a Pentagon job.
Note: Anduril's president clarified the $20 billion is a contract “ceiling” — a vehicle that allows any federal buyer to purchase Anduril products, consolidating roughly 120-130 existing procurement actions. “There's no money attached to it, this is just a contract vehicle.” The first actual task order was $87 million. However, the sole-source framework and the timing of the Kushner investment raise legitimate conflict-of-interest questions.
This connects to a broader Kushner profiteering pattern: Jared negotiates Iran policy while raising $5 billion from Gulf states. Saudi Arabia invested $2 billion in Jared's fund. Joshua's firm invests in a defense company that profits from the war Jared helped shape.