Sam Altman breaks silence on controversial OpenAI Pentagon deal

Sam Altman has stood firm on OpenAI’s controversial partnership with the Pentagon, despite a wave of internal backlash.

During an emotional all-hands meeting on Tuesday, the CEO addressed staff concerns following reports that rival firm Anthropic had rejected the same deal.

While Anthropic’s Dario Amodei reportedly turned down the Department of Defence over fears regarding autonomous weapons and mass surveillance, OpenAI chose to step in—a move that some researchers claim jeopardises the safe deployment of AI.

Altman admitted that he regrets the speed of the announcement, noting that the timing made the company appear “opportunistic.”

However, he maintained that the partnership is a strategic necessity. “To try so hard to do the right thing and get so absolutely like, personally crushed for it—and I know this is happening to all of you too, so I feel terrible for subjecting you all to this—is really painful,” Altman told employees.

He framed the agreement as a way for OpenAI to have a "seat at the table" in government decision-making.

“I think this was an example of a complex but the right decision with extremely difficult brand consequences and very negative PR for us in the short term,” he added.

Defending the necessity of national security, Altman remarked, “The US military has been a great benefit to all of humanity over the last 250 years.”

Beyond the US, OpenAI is also exploring a contract with NATO, though the company clarified this would be restricted to unclassified networks.