Los Alamos National Laboratory has partnered with OpenAI to integrate its latest AI reasoning models into the Lab’s Venado supercomputer, marking the first time OpenAI’s o-series models will be used for national security and energy applications. The partnership is expected to enhance the Lab’s ability to address complex scientific and security challenges.
“As threats to the nation become more complex and more pressing, we need new approaches and advanced technologies to preserve America’s security,” said Los Alamos Laboratory Director Thom Mason. “Artificial intelligence models from OpenAI will allow us to do this more successfully, while also advancing our scientific missions to solve some of the nation’s most important challenges.”
Venado, which runs on NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips, will be transferred to a secure, classified network where it will serve as a shared resource for researchers from Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia national laboratories. The move is intended to expand AI-driven research and innovation across the Department of Energy’s most critical scientific institutions.
Los Alamos has previously collaborated with OpenAI on projects to assess AI safety and the reasoning capabilities of OpenAI’s o1 model. This latest development marks a significant step forward, as OpenAI models are now being applied across national laboratories for a wide range of purposes, from energy research to material design and quantum computing. Deploying the o-series models on a classified system will enable deeper contributions to national security efforts and scientific discovery.
The national laboratories play a critical role in leveraging AI for public good, particularly through their world-leading scientific user facilities that generate unique datasets unavailable anywhere else. This partnership underscores the Department of Energy’s commitment to fostering relationships with technology leaders to provide transformative scientific capabilities.
The integration of OpenAI’s models into Venado is expected to drive progress in multiple fields, reinforcing the national laboratories’ position at the forefront of AI research. Some anticipated outcomes include:
- Medical breakthroughs: AI-driven insights into new approaches for treating and preventing diseases.
- Energy innovation: Advancing U.S. energy leadership by optimizing natural resource use and modernizing infrastructure.
- Threat detection: Enhancing the ability to identify biological, cyber, and environmental threats before they emerge.
- Fundamental science: Expanding knowledge in mathematics, high-energy physics, and other critical research areas.
- Cybersecurity: Strengthening protections for the American power grid and critical digital infrastructure.
- Technological leadership: Accelerating the foundational science that underpins U.S. global competitiveness.
“AI has sparked a new era of scientific progress,” said Jason Pruet, director of Los Alamos’ National Security AI Office. “With the capabilities from OpenAI on Venado, we have a chance to make contributions to the nation that seemed impossible just a few years ago.”
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