Unanimous AI Gets Air Force Funding for Hyperchat AI in Microsoft Teams

The U.S. Air Force, through its innovation arm AFWERX, has awarded Unanimous AI a Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract worth up to $1 million. This significant investment aims to integrate Unanimous AI’s patented Hyperchat AI™ technology directly into Microsoft Teams®, a platform already widely utilized for military communication and collaboration. The initiative is poised to dramatically enhance large-scale collective intelligence and communication across distributed Air Force teams, addressing a long-standing challenge in organizational efficiency.

Unanimous AI specializes in artificial swarm intelligence (ASI), a field that focuses on amplifying the intelligence of networked human groups rather than replacing human decision-makers with algorithms. Their approach, modeled on biological swarm intelligence, posits that connecting people with AI can create “collective superintelligence.” Hyperchat AI, a core component of this vision, employs a “swarm of AI agents” to facilitate productive real-time conversations among large teams, ranging from 20 to 250 members, and potentially any size beyond that. This innovative technology overcomes the common hurdle where productive discussions often falter in groups larger than eight to ten individuals.

The Hyperchat AI system operates by intelligently segmenting a large group into smaller, more manageable subgroups. A dynamic network of Conversational Surrogate AI Agents then seamlessly shares relevant content and insights among these subgroups in real-time. This mechanism allows human expertise, insights, and situational awareness to propagate rapidly across the entire network, enabling diverse teams of specialists, stakeholders, and subject-matter experts to converge efficiently on smarter, faster, and more accurate solutions. Rigorous studies conducted in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University have validated Hyperchat AI’s effectiveness, demonstrating its capacity to make large teams more efficient and significantly amplify the accuracy and intelligence of their conclusions. Currently, Hyperchat technology is available through Unanimous AI’s cloud-based platform, Thinkscape®, which is already employed by major corporations and organizations globally.

AFWERX, as the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), plays a crucial role in accelerating cutting-edge technologies from small businesses and startups into operational use. The TACFI program is specifically designed to bridge the infamous “Valley of Death” – the funding gap often encountered by small businesses transitioning their innovations from a prototype (Phase II) to full-scale implementation (Phase III). With an annual budget of $1.4 billion, AFWERX has a strong track record of fostering technological advancements for national defense. Unanimous AI has previously secured other contracts with the Air Force, including a $1.25 million Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II contract in 2023 for “Team Insight” and a Phase I contract in 2024 for “MindMeld,” further solidifying their partnership in leveraging AI for military applications.

This integration of Hyperchat AI into Microsoft Teams represents a significant step forward for military collaboration. As Microsoft continues its existing collaborations with the U.S. Department of Defense to embed advanced AI capabilities, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, into secure defense environments, the addition of Hyperchat AI will further empower Air Force personnel. It aligns with the broader trend of human-machine teaming, where AI acts as a digital agent to enhance situational awareness and decision-making by combining AI’s analytical power with human intuition. By enabling large, distributed military teams to collaborate more effectively and efficiently, this partnership promises to streamline decision-making processes, accelerate problem-solving, and ultimately bolster the operational capabilities of the U.S. Air Force in an increasingly complex global landscape.