Return Of The JEDI: Amazon Will Protest Microsoft's $10B Pentagon Contract

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is planning to protest a $10 billion cloud computing contract, known as JEDI, which the Department of Defense awarded to Microsoft Corp MSFT in October.

The two cloud computing giants had been battling for over two years about who would run the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure project, a 10-year undertaking in modernizing the Pentagon and Department of Defense.

Amazon, in a statement provided to The Wall Street Journal, said “Numerous aspects of the JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors," and that “we also believe it’s critical for our country that the government and its elected leaders administer procurements objectively and in a manner that is free from political influence."

Previously, there were reports that President Donald Trump instructed ex-Secretary of Defense James Mattis to "screw Amazon" out of the deal, which is likely a key factor in Amazon's decision to protest.

Microsoft's stock was largely unchanged in after-hours trading. The stock closed at $148.06 per share.

JEDI Masters: Amazon, Microsoft Battle To Build Pentagon's 'War Cloud'

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