FBI plans to expand its AI infrastructure
The FBI wants to expand its AI capacity by adding servers, equipment and other hardware, procurement documents show.
The new AI infrastructure will come by way of a multiple-award IDIQ contract with a collective ceiling of $88 million. The investment will go toward four high-performance compute servers, three rack-scale AI computing systems, one pod scale server and 10 AI inference server systems, among other equipment.
The bureau is also looking to bring Google’s Gemini on-premises with a licensing model that focuses on allocated capacity, rather than a per-seat or per-model framework. It would open the door for the FBI to shift capacity between model types without extra charges.
AI’s cost is top of mind for technology leaders across the government with the looming expiration date of the General Services Administration’s OneGov deals that put the technology at the fingertips of millions of federal workers for mere pennies.
Government technology leaders also have their eyes on more nascent tech, like agentic AI, that can carry a hefty price tag — and might only get more difficult to manage. AI inference costs per agentic workflow are predicted to increase more than fivefold through the next two years, according to research by IT consulting firm Gartner.
“Each successive generation of AI capability will necessitate more, and often more expensive, tokens,” Will Sommer, senior director analyst at Garner, said in a statement. “There is no reliable, economical one-size-fits-all model on the horizon.”
The FBI’s top AI official has said cost is a factor in how the bureau decides to build out its AI access points.
“If I’m being candid, the price point for us right now in the FBI, it’s a little steep,” Katie Noyes, chief AI officer at the FBI, said during an event last week.
The Department of Justice unit is no stranger to AI, with over 100 approved use cases as of this month. Its pace of adoption has been significant, more than doubling the tally from 2024 to 2025 and again this year.
With a capacity expansion on the way, the FBI doesn’t appear to be slowing its momentum.
The DOJ component is on the hunt for the right partners as the clock ticks for its multiple-award IDIQ contract that is set to begin Sept. 1.
The FBI anticipates making two to four IDIQ contract awards, but it said it “reserves the right to make a greater or fewer number” based on its analysis of the forthcoming proposals. Each contract will carry a minimum price tag of $2,000.
The bureau is accepting proposals from industry players until next week.
