OpenAI Seals Deal with U.S. Department of War to Deploy AI in Classified Network

OpenAI Seals Deal with U.S. Department of War to Deploy AI in Classified Network

OpenAI has reached an agreement with the United States Department of War (DoW) to deploy its artificial intelligence models within the department’s classified network, marking a significant expansion of the company’s footprint in sensitive government operations.

The announcement was made on Saturday by OpenAI Chief Executive Officer, Sam Altman, via his X account. Altman described the agreement as the outcome of extensive discussions focused on safety, governance and the responsible use of advanced AI systems in high-security environments.

According to Altman, the Department of War demonstrated “a deep respect for safety” and a willingness to align with OpenAI’s core principles.

He stated that the deal reflects shared commitments to prohibiting domestic mass surveillance and ensuring human responsibility in the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems.

“AI safety and wide distribution of benefits are the core of our mission. Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems. The DoW agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement,” Altman said.

Under the agreement, OpenAI’s models will operate exclusively within secure government cloud networks, rather than on local or edge infrastructure. The company said this approach is intended to maintain tighter operational control and security oversight. It will also deploy field engineers to support implementation and ensure that technical guardrails function as intended within the classified environment.

The development comes shortly after OpenAI completed a $110 billion funding round, pushing the company’s pre-money valuation to $730 billion. The funding is expected to accelerate the rollout of advanced AI tools across its platform. The company disclosed that the round includes strategic partnerships with major technology firms, including Amazon and NVIDIA.

OpenAI reported significant user growth across its products. Codex, its AI-powered coding agent, has seen weekly users more than triple to 1.6 million since the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT now serves over 900 million weekly active users, including more than 50 million paying subscribers. The company added that more than 9 million paying business users rely on its services for professional tasks, while startups, enterprises and governments continue to adopt the platform to redesign and manage products and services.

The agreement with the Department of War follows recent actions by the administration of Donald Trump targeting rival AI firm Anthropic.

On Friday, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s software, which has gained popularity as a programming assistant. Shortly afterward, the Pentagon designated the company a supply-chain risk — a classification typically applied to firms from countries considered U.S. adversaries.

The back-to-back directives are expected to limit Anthropic’s access to federal contracts and potentially affect its relationships with other firms. According to Bloomberg, OpenAI declined to comment on whether its new services for the Department of War would replace work previously handled by Anthropic.

Industry analysts say the deal underscores the growing intersection between advanced AI systems and national security infrastructure, as governments increasingly seek to harness cutting-edge technologies while navigating complex safety and ethical concerns.