Crypto exchange Coinbase and trading platform Robinhood are among a group of tech companies lending a hand to the US government’s new “Tech Force.”
The launch of the Tech Force on Monday aims to tap the private sector’s talent to plug “critical skills gaps” in the government across artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and software engineering.
Big Tech firms will lend their workers to serve one- to two-year stints at federal agencies, with the government seeking 1,000 early-career candidates and “experienced managers.”
Coinbase and Robinhood were named among nearly 30 “initial private sector partners,” which included Apple, Amazon Web Services, Nvidia and OpenAI, a sign that the government needs crypto expertise as the technology has rapidly integrated into the financial system.
Tech Force to deploy across government
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said the new tech workers would be inserted across a vast range of agencies, from the Treasury, the Commerce Department and the IRS.
The tech teams would be hired and funded by the agencies and report to their heads, with the private sector providing training.
“As we have people retiring from government, we’re not doing a great job of bringing in the next generation of leaders in government,” OPM director Scott Kupor told CNBC.
He said about 7% of the US government workforce are in their early career, those with five to seven years of work experience, compared to almost a quarter in the rest of the workforce.
Kupor added that the OPM and its private sector partners would put on a job fair for the workers after they completed their terms in the government.
“What we’re really trying to demonstrate is that the work that you can do in government is both challenging, complex, and that if you decide ultimately you want to go into the private sector, that’s great, that work is valued,” he said. “You’ll have the opportunity to take that as the next stage of your career.”
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Alongside Coinbase and Robinhood, the private sector partners also include Adobe, Amazon Web Services, AMD, Anduril, Apple, Box, C3.ai, Databricks, Dell Technologies, Docusign, Google Public Sector, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Snowflake, Synopsys, Uber, Workday, xAI, and Zoom.
Crypto companies, particularly blockchain analytics firms, have frequently assisted the US government with expertise in tracking and tracing cryptocurrency flows in criminal and regulatory investigations.
US market regulators under the Trump administration have also consulted with the crypto sector on how to develop their approaches as the policy environment toward the industry has warmed.
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