OpenAI & US National Laboratories: Enterprise Solutions in Secure Environments
Published 13 February 2025
OpenAI and the US government’s National Laboratories have announced a partnership to integrate commercial AI into high-security research, marking a significant shift in how AI companies are shaping their relationship with government. AI firms are increasingly positioning their technology as essential to national security, seeking government support through security contracts and potentially looser regulation.
The core of this partnership is the deployment of OpenAI's o1 model on Venado, a supercomputer at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which specialises in nuclear weapons research and national security. The o1 model is designed to think more carefully before responding, making it suitable for complex research tasks.
The o1 model will be used to support scientific research across several sensitive areas: cybersecurity, disease research, energy infrastructure development and fundamental scientific exploration. By gaining access to these high-security research domains, OpenAI strengthens its position as a crucial partner in national security operations.
The deployment includes carefully structured security protocols. OpenAI will provide security-cleared AI experts for sensitive projects, demonstrating how commercial AI companies can adapt their operations to meet strict government requirements while potentially influencing how these requirements evolve.
This implementation builds on OpenAI's ChatGPT Gov platform, a specialised system for processing sensitive government information in secure environments. With over 90,000 users (government employees) sending more than 18 million prompts since 2024, this growing integration suggests AI companies are becoming deeply embedded in government operations, raising questions about their influence on future AI oversight.
The partnership represents a broader industry shift, where AI companies are positioning themselves not just as technology providers but as essential partners in national security. This closer relationship between AI developers and government agencies could reshape how AI technology is regulated and deployed in sensitive sectors.