Amazon Advised US Government on A Procurement Portal Potentially Worth Billions

• Amazon may soon develop a procurement portal for the US government.
• A recent report revealed that the company has been in talks with the administration and is in the bidding for a federal contract.
• The e-commerce giant has not commented on the deal surrounding the Commercial Platform.

According to emails retrieved under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) act, a top Amazon executive who was part of the Obama administration has been in talks with the US government about a procurement portal. Director of Government Anne Rung revealed that the talks happened long before the “Amazon Amendment” was implemented.

The US has been interested in a procurement platform for quite some time now so far, no company including Amazon has been confirmed for the deal yet. companies are expected to present their proof of concept in the near future which will be evaluated before a contract is awarded. While the emails revealed by the FOIA Act do not reveal any illegal activity, it is visible that US bureaucrats are influenced by Amazon to secure lucrative contracts.

Federal procurements are currently valued at $53 billion, and Amazon is one of the frontrunners to nab a contract for the Commercial platform. The company has chosen to not reveal any details about the project or its talks with the government. A representative revealed in an official statement "No company has been given special access. Instead, all companies expressing interest in the Commercial Platforms program have equal access to GSA. We cannot speculate on which companies will be part of the proof of concept until proposals are received, evaluated, and awards are made."

Amazon is one of the latest tech companies to partner with the government. Microsoft recently received a contract for Holo Lens devices that will be specially built for military use by the US army. We are yet to find out which other companies are in the running for the Commercial Platform and when the deal will be finalized.

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