Microsoft (MSFT)-backed OpenAI (OPENAI) is considering a contract to deploy its AI technology for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s, or NATO’s, “unclassified” networks, The Wall Street Journal reported.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
The report noted that OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman had initially said in a company meeting that the ChatGPT maker was looking to deploy on all NATO classified networks. However, a company spokeswoman later clarified to WSJ that Altman misspoke and the contract opportunity was for NATO’s “unclassified networks.”
Last week, OpenAI signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense to deploy its models within a classified government network. The move came on the heels of President Donald Trump ordering federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s (ANTHRO) AI tools, canceling more than $200M in contracts. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described Anthropic as a national security “supply chain risk.” Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei later said his company was being punished for refusing to loosen restrictions on how its AI can be used by the U.S. military.
Anthropic — which is backed by Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google — had rejected the Department of War’s demand for unrestricted access to its AI models. Altman said on Monday that the company “shouldn’t have rushed” its deal with the Department of Defense and that OpenAI would amend the contract.
On Tuesday, Altman defended his decision to allow the Pentagon to use its tools for classified work while fielding questions from staff at a meeting about the principles behind the decision, the WSJ noted.
Altman said that while he did not regret signing a deal with the Defense Department, he wished he had not announced the decision so quickly, telling staff that it looked “opportunistic” and “not united with the field,” the report added.
Altman’s remarks echoed a memo he shared with staff and on X on Monday in which he said, “We were genuinely trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy.”
U.S. agencies, including the departments of State, Treasury, and Health and Human Services, are going to stop the use of Anthropic’s AI products, joining the Pentagon in switching to rivals like OpenAI (OPENAI) under the new White House order.
OpenAI previously said that it does not believe Anthropic should be designated as a “supply chain risk” by the U.S. government.
Altman said in the meeting that the government was willing to give OpenAI influence over how its technology was deployed and that he wanted his company to have a seat at the table in shaping future decisions. “We have built a technology that is going to be the fundamentally most important tool for the government and governments around the world,” he added.
Altman noted that it had been an unpleasant few days. “To try so hard to do the right thing and get so absolutely like, personally crushed for it—and I know this is happening to all of you too, so I feel terrible for subjecting you all to this—is really painful,” said Altman, the report noted.