NNSA taps AWS for $10M Genesis Mission pilot

The initial phase is designed to validate core AI concepts and will inform the design of the broader initiative, a spokesperson told FedScoop.

By Lindsey Wilkinson

January 13, 2026

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The National Nuclear Security Administration's AW139 helicopter during an air show at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sept. 14, 2025. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration is exploring a pilot project with AWS that could help lay the groundwork for addressing some of its Genesis Mission goals, according to federal spending records.

The contract for the “AWS Genesis Demonstrator” is funded by the NNSA Weapons Activities Office and began last week. AWS was awarded $10 million for the project as part of a larger, $30 million contract that is expected to last until 2027.

“The Genesis Demonstrator is an initial pilot phase with AWS designed to rapidly validate core AI concepts within a secure, classified cloud environment,” an NNSA spokesperson told FedScoop this week. “This early effort enables immediate progress while informing the design of the broader Genesis initiative to enhance national security capabilities.”

AWS, which did not provide additional details about the pilot project, was one of the two dozen tech companies to partner with the Energy Department on its Genesis Mission efforts in December. The tech giant has supported other AI initiatives for the department and its national laboratories, including the Lawrence Livermore National Lab and Idaho National Lab.

“This collaboration with AWS is already changing how we approach nuclear innovation,” John Wagoner, director of the Idaho National Laboratory, said in a December AWS blog post. “With cloud-based AI at scale, we’ve already demonstrated capabilities that will lead to compressing design cycles that traditionally took years into months.”

The cloud hyperscaler also committed $50 billion in November to bolster AI and supercomputing infrastructure across the federal government, a project that is slated to start this year.

In addition to its AWS pilot program, NNSA is playing a key role in pushing the Energy Department closer to reaching Genesis Mission goals.

The administration is currently fielding responses to a December AI-related request for information that will close later this month. NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams characterized the move as a “critical step” in enacting the White House’s AI vision. The NNSA is also working to fortify its AI infrastructure, along with other modernization initiatives, by way of a $28 million investment from the Technology Modernization Fund.