WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has signed a $200 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to develop advanced artificial intelligence tools aimed at modernizing military operations and bolstering national cybersecurity. This marks a significant shift in how foundational AI models are being integrated into federal government use.
Announced by the DoD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, the one-year pilot contract focuses on building “prototype frontier AI capabilities” that address a wide range of defense-related challenges, from administrative improvements to proactive cyber defense.
According to OpenAI’s blog post, this contract is the first official engagement under its new “OpenAI for Government” initiative. The initiative provides secure and compliant access to OpenAI’s models for public sector use at the federal, state, and local levels. OpenAI said the partnership will help streamline how the Defense Department processes healthcare for service members, analyzes acquisition data, and enhances cybersecurity measures.
“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.
The work will primarily take place in the Washington, D.C., region and is expected to wrap up by July 2026.
Although this is OpenAI’s first government contract of this scale, it isn’t its first foray into military-related AI applications. In December 2024, OpenAI partnered with defense contractor Anduril Industries to integrate its AI into counter-drone systems—an arrangement that hinted at the company’s expanding role in defense tech.
Historically, OpenAI prohibited its technology from being used for “military and warfare,” but the company quietly removed that restriction in 2023. Despite this, its current usage policy still prohibits using its models to develop weapons, injure individuals, or destroy property. Additionally, it bans practices such as creating facial recognition databases without consent or conducting real-time biometric surveillance in public spaces for law enforcement purposes.
This latest deal reflects a broader trend in which U.S. tech firms and government agencies deepen collaboration on national security-focused AI projects. In recent months, Anthropic launched a model with looser safety guardrails for defense agencies. Meanwhile, Google retracted prior commitments not to use AI in harmful ways, and Meta allowed the U.S. government to apply its LLaMA models to security use cases.
OpenAI’s government efforts have been expanding across multiple agencies. The company has existing partnerships with the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the Treasury Department, and U.S. National Labs. Earlier this year, it launched ChatGPT Gov, a platform designed to give government workers secure access to its models.
Still, privacy advocates are raising concerns about AI’s growing role in sensitive government functions. Generative AI systems handling personal data, legal status, or law enforcement tasks face heightened scrutiny. OpenAI’s policies promise to uphold privacy protections, but the practical limits of those safeguards remain unclear.
While Congress continues to debate federal regulation, the Biden and Trump administrations have both backed expanded use of AI in national defense. Critics warn that without robust oversight, AI deployments could outpace ethical and legal guardrails. Notably, a pending “big beautiful bill” backed by Trump would block states from regulating AI on their own.
As the Pentagon continues exploring the strategic advantages of generative AI, this contract with OpenAI could be the first in a series of public-private partnerships reshaping how the U.S. government approaches security, data, and automation.
