The establishment of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) relied on a recruitment campaign that was partly carried out by young software engineers wiped out on online chat groups and Discord servers, according to three sources and chat logs judged by Wired . Some of the engineers are associated with Palantir, firm Palantir of data analysis, or his co -founder and board chairman -and Musk Ally -Peter Thiel.
Since Doge staff members – many of them are young and with little or no government experience – to access sensitive information about about a dozen government agencies, this is the first look at some of the networks from which the agency recruited, and who They trust in winning talent.
In online chat groups linked to Palantir Alumni and Spacex Interns, Musk’s Space Company, as well as in a Diskord server related to a military artificial intelligence program, the engineers said they were looking for people willing to do to six Months in Washington, DC Cutting Federal to spend spending – which is about a quarter of the US gross domestic product – by a third.
Anthony Jancso, one of three engineers related to the recruitment effort, is a former Palantir employee. According to sources, Jancso said he was recruited by Steve Davis, the boring president of the company and Musk locker who reported Bloomberg in December, recruitment for Doge.
Palantir, Jancso and Davis did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jancso’s CV calls him a 2021 graduate at University College London and because he was a ‘forward deployed’ software engineer in Palantir between December 2021 and May 2023. Jancso is best known for the guidance of the public sector. In a 2023 story about a then hackathon, VentureBeat reports that Accelerate received support from companies, including Openai and Anthropic. In 2024, the company became known as Acceleratex. Acceleratex, which pretends to offer a modern operating system for the government, claims that it transforms government infrastructure with AI-driven automation and software delivered in days. “
On November 26, 2024, in a message reviewed by Wired, a person using a screen name, including the name Anthony and the same handle that Jancso uses on his X account placed in a discord server that connects Keep with the spatial generative AI challenge-a ‘the combination of eight weeks of AI crash course and problem solving of hack-a-thon involving 350 plus participants, ”according to the website.
“To help the Department of the Government Efficiency Team find hardcore engineers,” the message reads. “Send your GitHub/LinkedIn to @doge on X and U X handle to me in DM if you are interested or know someone who it is can help get them into the pipeline.”
In early December, in another message reviewed by Wired, a person using the same handle placed in a chat group for Palantir alumni.
“Hey everyone,” the message says. ‘I help Elon’s team to find technical talent for the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) in the new admin. It is a historical opportunity to build an effective government and cut the federal budget by 1/3. If you are interested in playing a role in this mission, reach out within the next few days. “