Helmed by CEO Sam Altman, OpenAI started working with Carahsoft earlier this year and was added to a defense contract vehicle in May, as the contractor fights claims it has been overcharging the Pentagon.
Earlier this year, OpenAI quietly removed some language from its usage policies prohibiting people from using its products for “military and warfare,” as CEO Sam Altman and his fellow execs opened the company up to defense work. As a path to getting business with the Pentagon, OpenAI has since partnered with Carahsoft, a government contractor recently accused of allegedly price fixing on Department of Defense contracts.
According to Carahsoft’s website, it added OpenAI to what’s called a contract vehicle with the DoD titled Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS). The vehicle is a method the government uses to buy services from private companies quickly and without much administrative burden. It allows Carahsoft to quickly provide tech — everything from cloud computing networks, AI software and productivity tools like Google Workspace — to the Pentagon from a long list of tech companies beyond OpenAI, including Google, Microsoft and HP. Per the military’s own description of CHESS, it’s “the Army’s designated primary source for commercial IT,” making it simple to start using “off-the-shelf” technologies without having to go through any additional contractual negotiations or bureaucracy.
OpenAI confirmed it was added to the CHESS contract in May, shortly after it started working with Carahsoft. To date, it hasn’t executed a contract with the DoD via the vehicle, but Carahsoft has........