OpenAI lands $200 million US defense contract

What just happened? The Department of Defense has awarded a one-year, $200 million contract to OpenAI to develop advanced artificial intelligence tools aimed at addressing critical national security challenges "in both warfighting and enterprise domains." The deal was announced Monday in the DoD's daily list of newly awarded contracts.

The Department of Defense said OpenAI will receive $2 million immediately for research and development purposes. The company will also use the funds to test and evaluate prototype AI models before deployment.

Under the agreement, OpenAI will develop frontier AI capabilities to improve healthcare for service members, streamline data analysis, and support proactive cyber defense. Most of the work will be focused in the Washington, DC area, with an estimated completion date of July 2036.

In a separate post, OpenAI noted that the contract is part of its new OpenAI for Government initiative, which develops AI solutions for the public ...