OpenAI Wins $200 Million US Defense Contract

The U.S. Defense Department awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract on Monday to develop artificial intelligence technologies for national security.  The one-year deal will be carried out primarily in Washington and is expected to continue through July 2026.

According to the recent Contracts announcement published by the U.S. Department of Defense, with the new funding, OpenAI will research, develop, test, and evaluate technologies to address national security concerns. The project will be conducted in collaboration with the Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO).

“Under this award, the performer will develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,” states the document.

OpenAI said that the new agreement falls under its latest initiative, OpenAI for Government, alongside other partnerships and projects—such as ChatGPT Gov⁠—with government entities including the U.S. National Labs, Treasury, NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the  National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“We’re supporting the U.S. government’s efforts in adopting best-in-class technology and deploying these tools in service of the public good,” said OpenAI in an announcement shared on Monday.

The tech giant explained it expects to bring solutions and help workers by developing the most advanced technology and its AI tools to “serve the American people.” The new deal with the CDAO will focus on supporting U.S. defense, considering OpenAI’s policies and guidelines.

“This contract, with a $200 million ceiling, will bring OpenAI’s industry-leading expertise to help the Defense Department identify and prototype how frontier AI can transform its administrative operations, from improving how service members and their families get health care, to streamlining how they look at program and acquisition data, to supporting proactive cyber defense,” said OpenAI.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT Gov, a specialized version of its chatbot specially designed to meet the U.S. government agencies’ needs, in January.