ChainCatcher reported that according to Forbes, OpenAI is seeking to establish a closer partnership with the US Department of Defense. OpenAI has cooperated with government contractor Carahsoft, a billionaire-owned company that helps technology companies provide software to the Pentagon.
Earlier this year, OpenAI quietly removed a clause in its use policy that prohibited its products from being used for “military and warfare purposes.” The company was subsequently added to a defense contracting tool called Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS), a method the U.S. government uses to quickly and with little administrative burden to purchase services from private companies.
While OpenAI has not yet signed a contract with the Department of Defense through this channel, Carahsoft has helped it secure other government contracts. In the past year, Carahsoft sold $108,000 worth of ChatGPT licenses to NASA and more than $70,000 worth of unspecified OpenAI licenses to the National Gallery of Art.
