BigBear.ai Soars 260% After Winning $900m Air Force Pact

BigBear.ai soared 260% Thursday, the biggest one-day jump on record, after the US Air Force awarded a contract valued at up to $900 million.

(Bloomberg) — BigBear.ai soared 260% Thursday, the biggest one-day jump on record, after the US Air Force awarded a contract valued at up to $900 million.

The artificial intelligence analytics company will compete for task orders delivering systems, capabilities and synthetic environments under an indefinite delivery and quantity contract. The task orders are expected to be completed by 2032, the company said in a statement.

For investors in the company — which has a market value of roughly $385 million — the deal may be read as an affirmation that BigBear.ai is not just another flash in the pan.

BigBear.ai’s shares tumbled 88% last year amid a broader selloff in risky assets with high-growth potential — like technology companies. The onslaught of criticism over artificial intelligence after the release of OpenAI’s viral chatbot, ChatGPT, late last year hasn’t helped the stock. ChatGPT faces scrutiny over fears it can be misused by malicious players, like scammers and hackers.

Still, Fortune 500 companies — like Microsoft Corp. — and the US government are embracing AI. The technology giant is mulling an as much as $10 billion investment in ChatGPT, Bloomberg has reported. The State Department has kicked off a series of initiatives to support AI development and incorporate it into their systems.

BigBear.ai ended the trading session up 260% at $3.05. They stock had surged as much as 355% intraday.

(Updates to include shares at market close.)

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