The Federal Aviation Administration has picked a startup called Air Space Intelligence to build artificial intelligence tools for managing the nation's air traffic, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reporter Allyson Versprille reports that the company won an $875 million, 12-year contract from the FAA. The goal is to develop AI technologies that map flight trajectories and identify areas of congestion in the skies, with the aim of reducing delays.
In plain terms, the software is meant to help controllers and planners see where air traffic is bunching up and where flights are headed, so they can route planes more efficiently. Bloomberg framed the deal in a headline as the FAA tapping Air Space Intelligence to "build an AI traffic control tool."
The sources provided here describe the size, length, and broad purpose of the contract, but do not spell out a timeline for when the tools would be deployed, how they would integrate with existing systems, or what specific delays they are expected to cut.
Why it matters: flight delays are a familiar frustration for travelers, and the dollar figure and 12-year span signal that the FAA is making a long-term, large-scale bet that AI can help modernize how the country moves planes through increasingly busy airspace.