OpenAI announces $200 million DoD deal, launches government group

The company is pooling all its government functions into a new group, «OpenAI for Government,» aimed at «deploying tools in the service of public good.»

The first partnership will be a $200 million Pentagon deal to «identify and prototype» AI across a wide range of functions, from healthcare to acquisitions and cyber defense.

National security «and enterprise»
According to CNBC, quoting the The Department of Defense, the awarded contract will deal with «critical national security challenges in both war fighting and enterprise domains.»

OpenAI, through no lack of ambition, says they hope to improve the daily work of employees at the DoD, and wants to make them more efficient, empowered and supported in their mission.

Less time on routine work
As an example, OpenAI mentions how a pilot program for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania resulted in a 105 minute daily reduction of time spent on routine tasks, and they hope to roll out to the wider government.

They already have contracts and collaborations with the U.S. National Labs, the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, NIH, and the Treasury — which will all be organized into the new OpenAI for Government.

In December 2024, OpenAI partnered with Anduril to develop counter drone technologies for the Pentagon in a contract worth $100 million.

— All use cases must be consistent with OpenAI’s usage policies and guidelines, says OpenAI in their blog post.

Read more: OpenAI’s announcement post, more context at CNBC and a report from Reuters.