OpenAI has signed a new agreement to provide access to its artificial intelligence models to U.S. government and defense agencies through Amazon’s cloud division. The deal covers both classified and unclassified operations and marks a major expansion of OpenAI’s presence in the public sector.
This agreement allows OpenAI to support the Pentagon under a contract secured late last month. The move came after the Department of Defense ended its previous partnership with Anthropic, which had been a key supplier of AI solutions for U.S. defense.
Anthropic had previously won a Pentagon contract valued at up to $200 million in July 2025. The company worked alongside Palantir and Amazon Web Services to deploy its Claude AI models across classified military and intelligence systems.
However, the partnership between Anthropic and the Pentagon broke down in February. The company declined to permit unrestricted military use of its AI technologies, particularly in areas such as domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. As a result, the Pentagon classified Anthropic as a “supply chain risk” and cut ties with the firm.
OpenAI, which had mainly focused on unclassified government applications in the past, has now secured a role in classified operations. This shift significantly strengthens its position within the defense sector.
The collaboration with Amazon Web Services highlights a broader trend in the AI industry. Cloud providers that are already integrated into federal infrastructure are becoming key gateways for securing high-value government contracts.
Winning such contracts could also enhance OpenAI’s appeal to major corporate clients. Many large enterprises view partnerships with government and defense agencies as a strong indicator of trust, security, and reliability.
Following its transition to a for-profit structure last year, OpenAI also revised its agreement with Microsoft. The update allows the company to partner with competing cloud providers when offering AI services to national security clients, including the Pentagon.
