US awards OpenAI $200M defense contract for national security AI tools

ISTANBUL

The US announced on Monday that it has awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to supply artificial intelligence (AI) tools over the next year, marking the first official collaboration between the company and the Pentagon.

The Defense Department said the agreement aims to “develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains.”

It is the first contract involving OpenAI to appear on the department’s official website.

The deal comes months after OpenAI announced plans to partner with defense tech firm Anduril to deploy advanced AI systems for national security missions, as reported by CNBC.

In December, Anduril was awarded a $100 million defense contract, shortly before OpenAI competitor Anthropic announced a partnership with Palantir and Amazon to deliver AI models to US defense and intelligence agencies.

At a Vanderbilt University event in April, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized the company's commitment to contributing to national security efforts.

In a blog post, OpenAI said the new contract is part of its “OpenAI for Government” initiative, which includes ChatGPT Gov and aims to provide US agencies with custom AI models, support, and strategic tools.

OpenAI said the $200 million contract will leverage its “industry-leading expertise” to help the Defense Department explore how frontier AI can enhance administrative operations from health care for service members and families to program data analysis and proactive cyber defense.

The company emphasized that “all use cases must be consistent with OpenAI’s usage policies and guidelines.”