Firewall Where Few Start-Ups Dare to Go
Jul 10, 2025
August Chen, CEO and co-founder of Hazel, an AI procurement company, talks about the challenges and innovations in transforming government procurement. Drawing on his experience at Palantir, he shares insights on the resistance of outdated systems to change. Chen emphasizes the role of AI in creating efficiencies, expanding vendor options, and improving public service delivery. He also discusses the balance between innovation and regulation in AI, advocating for collaboration to safely harness its benefits for society.
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Wildfire Project Sparked Procurement Interest
- August Chen worked on wildfire prevention software at Palantir to reduce wildfire damage by 99%.
- He discovered that underlying procurement inefficiencies hindered replacing old infrastructure like power poles.
AI Tackles Procurement Inefficiencies
- Government procurement is slow due to lengthy technical document creation and limited vendor research time.
- AI can speed up solicitation writing and dramatically expand vendor pools for better competition and pricing.
Procurement Faces Human Biases
- Procurement committees are susceptible to human biases despite anti-corruption structures.
- These biases can prevent achieving the best service and price for taxpayers.