OpenAI and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore closer cooperation on artificial intelligence and advanced computing, aiming to accelerate scientific research across areas ranging from energy to national security, the organizations said on Thursday.
The agreement establishes a framework for information sharing and coordination between OpenAI and the DOE, including its national laboratory system, and is intended to support federal initiatives such as the Genesis Mission, which brings together government, industry and research institutions to speed up scientific discovery through advanced computing and AI.
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The MOU builds on existing work between OpenAI and DOE laboratories, where frontier AI models have already been deployed in real research environments. These efforts have focused on understanding how AI tools can assist scientists in testing hypotheses, analyzing complex data and integrating new methods into established workflows.
Speaking at a Genesis Mission event at the White House, Kevin Weil, vice president of OpenAI for Science, said the partnership could help researchers move more quickly from ideas to results. “When frontier AI meets the expertise of the national labs, it opens up new ways to explore ideas, test them faster, and accelerate scientific progress,” Weil said.
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As part of its collaboration with the DOE, OpenAI has worked with national laboratories including Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia, deploying advanced reasoning models on high-performance computing systems such as the Venado supercomputer. The companies have also convened large-scale evaluation efforts, including a multi-lab AI testing initiative involving more than 1,000 scientists, to assess how AI performs on domain-specific scientific problems.
OpenAI said the memorandum allows both parties to discuss and develop follow-on agreements for specific projects as they take shape, while ensuring appropriate governance and oversight. The company added that it recently submitted recommendations to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy outlining how broader access to AI models, computing power and research environments could strengthen U.S. leadership in science and technology.
Source: OpenAI