The collaboration will be conducted through the Defense Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) and will focus on prototyping AI applications to streamline administrative operations. These include improving healthcare access for service members and their families, enhancing data use for acquisitions, and supporting proactive cyber defence—all within OpenAI’s usage 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,” the company stated. OpenAI emphasised that these efforts aim to serve the public good by helping public servants reduce bureaucratic workload and focus more on mission-critical work.
OpenAI for Government brings together existing collaborations with U.S. agencies, including the National Laboratories, NASA, the NIH, the Treasury, and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The company is providing its most advanced AI models in secure, compliant environments, including through ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Gov.In addition to access to its leading models, OpenAI is offering custom solutions for national security on a limited basis, alongside hands-on support and strategic planning guidance for future AI applications. The initiative consolidates and expands OpenAI’s public sector efforts under one unified programme.
“We are just getting started, and we look forward to helping U.S. government leaders harness AI to better serve the public,” the company said. “We are committed to working in close partnership with agencies, advancing their missions with powerful tools that are safe, and secure.”
OpenAI cited early successes, including a pilot with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where employees saved an average of 105 minutes per day on routine tasks.
At the federal level, OpenAI models are already in use at Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia National Labs, accelerating research and strengthening national security readiness.
