OpenAI to Sell AI Models to U.S. Agencies via AWS

March 18, 2026
OpenAI has signed a deal with Amazon Web Services to distribute its AI models to U.S. government and defense agencies, including for classified work, expanding its federal presence after securing a Pentagon contract.

OpenAI has signed a contract with Amazon Web Services to sell its artificial intelligence products to U.S. government employees for both classified and unclassified work, according to The Information. The deal allows OpenAI to support the Pentagon through a recently awarded contract and to expand its access to other federal agencies via AWS’s established cloud infrastructure.

The agreement follows the Pentagon’s decision to replace Anthropic as a supplier after the company declined to permit unrestricted military use of its AI models. Under the new arrangement, AWS will distribute OpenAI’s models to U.S. defense and civilian agencies, while OpenAI will retain control over which models are made available and under what conditions.

OpenAI’s partnership with AWS became possible after it restructured its exclusivity arrangement with Microsoft last year, allowing it to work with other cloud providers for national security clients. The Pentagon deal is expected to generate several million dollars in revenue and marks OpenAI’s first large-scale classified deployment through a commercial cloud provider.

As part of the collaboration, AWS’s sales team will promote OpenAI’s products to government customers, with both companies sharing revenue from those contracts. The cooperation also positions OpenAI to pursue additional federal and enterprise contracts that rely on AWS’s cloud services.

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