OpenAI plans to open first D.C. office next year

OpenAI said it will open its first office in Washington, D.C. early next year, the latest sign that the artificial intelligence startup is looking to deepen its ties to lawmakers and and regulators.

The office will be home to OpenAI’s workforce in the nation’s capital, which is currently made up of about 30 people, an OpenAI spokesperson said Monday. The company has been operating out of a co-working space in the city for the past year.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is slated to speak at a conference hosted by the Federal Reserve in D.C. on Tuesday. In June, the company launched a new offering called OpenAI for Government and said it was awarded a contract of up to $200 million by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Chan Park, OpenAI’s head of global affairs for the U.S. and Canada, will run the D.C. office alongside Joe Larson, who will lead the public sector business as vice president of government starting later this month. Ronnie Chatterji, the company’s chief economist, will also frequently work from that location, the spokesperson said.

OpenAI’s D.C. office will include a laboratory called “The Workshop,” where nonprofit leaders, policymakers and educators can test the company’s technology. The space will be used to preview new technology, offer trainings and bring together experts, the spokesperson said.

The company, valued at $300 billion earlier this year, currently has offices in locations including San Francisco, New York, Seattle, London, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore.

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