Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
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Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development
National Labs to Use OpenAI Models

OpenAI is strengthening ties with the U.S. government through a partnership with national laboratories in a bid to harness artificial intelligence to drive scientific advancements.
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The collaboration announced Thursday aims to provide researchers with access to OpenAI’s latest reasoning models, potentially accelerating breakthroughs in materials science, renewable energy and astrophysics.
“This marks the beginning of a new era where AI will advance science, strengthen national security and support U.S. government initiatives,” OpenAI said.
The agreement says that about 15,000 scientists from institutions such as Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories will gain access to OpenAI’s o1 model or another model from its o-series. These models will run on Venado, an Nvidia-powered supercomputer at Los Alamos.
The AI models will be selectively integrated into national labs with oversight from security-cleared OpenAI researchers to ensure responsible deployment.
OpenAI has also positioned AI as a potential game-changer for America’s energy sector, saying that its models could help with new natural resource efficiencies and modernize the country’s aging infrastructure. The promise comes amid warnings from officials that the U.S. power grid is increasingly vulnerable, posing risks to economic stability and public welfare if left unaddressed.
The partnership builds on OpenAI’s efforts to draw closer to the government. The company introduced Tuesday ChatGPT Gov, a tailored version of its chatbot designed for federal agencies. It had previously agreed to provide early access to its models for government-led evaluations.
The company and the Trump administration unveiled on Jan. 21 a $500 billion initiative dubbed Stargate, focused on AI-driven infrastructure projects. SoftBank, a key Stargate investor, is reportedly pouring up to $25 billion in a $40 billion funding round that would value the AI company at $340 billion.
OpenAI has seen its position as a dominant AI company challenged by Chinese startup DeepSeek, although the U.S. company is investigating whether its Chinese competitor exfiltrated information from its servers to build the newest R1 model (see: Accusations Mount Against DeepSeek Over AI Plagiarism).