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OpenAI has partnered<\/a> with defense startup Anduril Industries<\/a> to develop AI for the Pentagon. The companies said on Wednesday that they\u2019ll combine OpenAI\u2019s models, including GPT-4o<\/a> and OpenAI o1<\/a>, with Anduril\u2019s systems and software to improve the US military\u2019s defenses against unpiloted aerial attacks.<\/p>\n The deal comes less than a year after OpenAI softened its stance on using its models for military purposes. Although the ChatGPT<\/a> maker\u2019s policies still prohibit its models from developing or using weapons, it deleted a line in January<\/a> that explicitly banned integrating its tech into \u201cmilitary and warfare\u201d use. The company said at the time it was already working with DARPA on cybersecurity tools. In October, the company hired<\/a> a former Palantir<\/a> security officer and was reportedly pitching its products to the US military and national security establishment.<\/p>\n An OpenAI spokesperson told<\/a> The Washington Post<\/em> that the deal complies with the company\u2019s rules because it focuses on systems that defend against pilotless aerial threats. The company said the partnership doesn\u2019t cover other uses.<\/p>\n According to The Washington Post<\/em>, the OpenAI-Anduril partnership will aim to improve the latter\u2019s tech for detecting and shooting down drones threatening the US military and its allies. The Pentagon already buys Anduril\u2019s Roadrunner drone interceptor (pictured above) to help counter the rise of smaller drones on the world\u2019s battlefields. The startup sells<\/a> sentry towers, comms jammers, military drones and an autonomous submarine, among other projects.<\/p>\n The companies framed the partnership as a way to defend US military personnel and counter China\u2019s advancing AI. \u201cOur partnership with OpenAI will allow us to utilize their world-class expertise in artificial intelligence to address urgent Air Defense capability gaps across the world,\u201d Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf wrote in a statement. \u201cTogether, we are committed to developing responsible solutions that enable military and intelligence operators to make faster, more accurate decisions in high-pressure situations.\u201d<\/p>\n Anduril was co-founded by Oculus Rift<\/a> inventor (and Oculus VR co-founder) Palmer Luckey. That headset laid the foundation for the Meta Quest lineup<\/a>, which today holds<\/a> the lion\u2019s share of the VR and AR market. Luckey left Meta (then Facebook) in 2017<\/a>, months after news broke that he donated $10,000 to a group<\/a> aiming to post 4chan-style anti-Hillary Clinton memes on roadside billboards.<\/p>\n \u201cOpenAI builds AI to benefit as many people as possible, and supports U.S.-led efforts to ensure the technology upholds democratic values,\u201d OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a statement. \u201cOur partnership with Anduril will help ensure OpenAI technology protects U.S. military personnel, and will help the national security community understand and responsibly use this technology to keep our citizens safe and free.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n