During the OpenAI ban on military use, the Pentagon has leveraged Azure to use its model, with both parties confirming they are not bound

According to 1M AI News, Pentagon had access to OpenAI's models through Microsoft Azure before OpenAI officially lifted its ban on military use in January 2024. The Pentagon was able to access the GPT series models through existing Azure cloud service contracts without direct negotiations with OpenAI. Microsoft has separate licensing terms for OpenAI products on Azure, and spokespeople from both companies confirmed that Azure OpenAI products are not subject to, and have never been subject to, OpenAI's own usage policy.

Microsoft has been investing a total of $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019 and has been distributing its models to enterprise customers through Azure. Some OpenAI employees had previously discovered that the Pentagon was testing the models through Azure, although most employees were unaware at the time. In January 2024, OpenAI announced its support for some government defense projects, essentially retroactively aligning the company's policy with the existing Pentagon usage reality.