OpenAI is collaborating with longtime government contractor Leidos to implement generative and agentic artificial intelligence for specific missions across federal agencies. This partnership, disclosed to FedScoop on Thursday, signifies a growing trend of AI integration within federal operations, following encouragement from the Trump administration aimed at leveraging technology to enhance efficiency and reduce operational costs.
The initiative will target “more advanced mission areas,” combining OpenAI’s sophisticated models with Leidos’s extensive data, deployment expertise, and mission understanding. Joseph Larson, vice president of government at OpenAI, emphasized in an interview that the partnership seeks to advance beyond merely providing a ChatGPT Enterprise service towards a comprehensive application of cutting-edge AI in large-scale government initiatives.
As part of this collaboration, Leidos plans to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT and API Platform into its core operational systems. This integration will ensure that every Leidos customer gains access to enhanced capabilities in automation, product design, and delivery. Engineers from both companies will collaborate closely on mission-specific tasks, according to Ron Keesing, Leidos’ chief AI officer, who highlighted the importance of such synergies in addressing specific government needs.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is currently available to agencies at a nominal fee of $1 through a OneGov agreement with the General Services Administration, and the company is nearing completion of the FedRAMP approval process. Larson noted that the partnership with Leidos is a step towards delivering tailored solutions for government tasks that go beyond standard applications.
The concept for this initiative partly stemmed from Leidos’s internal utilization of OpenAI tools, leading the company to identify opportunities for expanding their application into the public sector. Keesing pointed out potential use cases for this AI technology, including supply chain monitoring, reporting, analytics, and issue detection, as part of their strategy to add real value for government clients.
“We’ll always respond to what our customers ask for, but we are also aware of their mission needs, and we’re actually working together in anticipation of those needs to develop solutions,” Keesing stated. He explained that agentic AI distinguishes itself from traditional AI by its ability to execute multi-step tasks with minimal human oversight, thereby allowing government employees to move away from monotonous duties to more impactful decision-making tasks.
Keesing attributed Leidos’s choice of OpenAI as a partner to the familiarity and effectiveness of its products in everyday life. He noted that tools like ChatGPT have proven to be readily accepted when introduced into professional environments, facilitating a smoother transition to advanced AI-driven workflows.
The Trump administration’s push for rapid AI adoption reflects a broader effort to enhance efficiency within federal agencies. This movement has ushered in a regulatory easing, aimed at removing barriers that technology firms argue have inhibited U.S. competitiveness and innovation in the tech sector. In light of this evolving landscape, numerous tech companies have expressed heightened interest in establishing partnerships with government entities under the new operational framework.
“You can think about this as us having the opportunity to bring forward the approach we’ve been using for a long time in a more formal way,” Keesing remarked, reinforcing the significance of their work alongside OpenAI. Larson echoed this sentiment, noting that OpenAI has experienced a surge in government inquiries regarding the application of AI within a mission context. “How do I actually use it to solve the problems that are most critical to me as a government agency?” he asked, underlining the growing demand for practical AI solutions.
This collaboration is not Leidos’s first foray into AI partnerships; earlier in 2023, the company joined forces with Microsoft to amplify the use of generative AI in the public sector. As these partnerships evolve, the focus remains on integrating advanced technologies to address pressing governmental challenges, enabling agencies to enhance their operational capabilities and deliver improved services to the public.
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