What simply occurred? The Division of Protection has awarded a one-year, $200 million contract to OpenAI to develop superior synthetic intelligence instruments geared toward addressing vital nationwide safety challenges “in each warfighting and enterprise domains.” The deal was introduced Monday within the DoD’s each day checklist of newly awarded contracts.
The Division of Protection mentioned OpenAI will obtain $2 million instantly for analysis and growth functions. The corporate can even use the funds to check and consider prototype AI fashions earlier than deployment.
Underneath the settlement, OpenAI will develop frontier AI capabilities to enhance healthcare for service members, streamline knowledge evaluation, and help proactive cyber protection. Many of the work might be targeted within the Washington, DC space, with an estimated completion date of July 2036.
In a separate submit, OpenAI famous that the contract is a part of its new OpenAI for Authorities initiative, which develops AI options for the general public sector. The corporate already has partnerships with a number of federal companies, together with NASA, the NIH, the Air Pressure, and the Treasury Division, however that is the primary time it has been awarded a contract by the DoD.
The brand new initiative will unify all current partnerships that OpenAI has with federal, state, and native public-sector companies within the US, enabling them to entry OpenAI’s newest and most succesful AI fashions, together with ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Gov. The corporate can even supply customized AI fashions to the DoD for nationwide safety functions “on a restricted foundation.”
OpenAI famous that the contract requires the DoD and different authorities companies to adjust to its utilization insurance policies and security tips. The corporate’s present insurance policies forbid its companions from utilizing its know-how to develop weapons, however it not prohibits them from utilizing it for “navy and warfare” – a clause it faraway from its coverage doc final yr.
Regardless of being a serious milestone in its quick historical past, the $200 million contract is prone to contribute little or no to OpenAI financially. The corporate’s annualized income hit $10 billion in June 2025, up from $5.5 billion in December 2024. It has additionally introduced a income goal of $12.7 billion for 2025, fueled by the rising adoption of ChatGPT throughout varied sectors.
OpenAI secured the DoD contract a number of months after saying a collaboration with protection know-how startup Anduril to develop AI instruments for “nationwide safety missions.” Anduril obtained a $100 million protection contract in December, simply weeks after OpenAI rival Anthropic introduced partnerships with Palantir and Amazon to deploy its AI fashions for US protection and intelligence companies.
