Perhaps most notably, OpenAI recently reached the $10 billion annual recurring revenue (ARR) mark, a huge accomplishment for any startup. The company’s growing influence in the national security sector does not end there. Worryingly, the announcement coincides with OpenAI’s similarly thrilling partnership with defense technology startup Anduril. Together, they hope to deploy state-of-the-art artificial intelligence systems across all national security missions. This is OpenAI’s first publicly acknowledged contract, posted to the Department of Defense’s public contract database. This is a major move for the company as it accelerates its commitment to aligning with government defense priorities.
The partnership with defense contractor Anduril was made public three months ago. In practice, the one-year contract will focus heavily on building frontier prototype AI capabilities. These capabilities will go a long way toward overcoming urgent national security requirements from the warfighting to enterprise domains. OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO, Sam Altman, underscored the company’s commitment to national security, stating, “We have to and are proud to and really want to engage in national security areas.”
OpenAI’s valuation is exceptional at $300 billion. That’s on top of a successful $40 billion financing round, which was completed in March, with the recently awarded contract. This financial support allows OpenAI to enter the market as a strong competitor within the dynamic AI space. It puts the org in opposition to powerful competitors such as Anthropic. Anthropic has entered defense partnerships with Palantir and Amazon. Together, they manufacture state-of-the-art AI models for U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence community agencies.
Altman’s vision for OpenAI’s long-term strategy was recently on display at the Snowflake Summit in San Francisco, where Altman laid out his grand vision. We held this event on June 2, 2025. In April, Altman participated in an energetic discussion about OpenAI’s mission at an event hosted by Vanderbilt University. In conversation with board member and former NSA chief Paul Nakasone.
Anduril is a central partner in the current “defense-industrial” initiative. In December, the company won a $100 million defense contract, bringing them even deeper into the work of improving national security technologies. The partnership between OpenAI and Anduril paints a worrisome picture that reflects the larger trend of private sector participation in defense innovation.
The Defense Department’s praise for OpenAI’s accomplishments underscores the mounting trend toward further adoption of robust AI solutions to solve national security issues.
“Under this award, the performer will develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,” – The Defense Department