It is now protected to say the gang’s all right here in terms of huge generative AI mannequin makers signing greenback low cost offers with Uncle Sam. Google has joined Anthropic and OpenAI, inking questionable short-term low cost phrases for presidency businesses.
To not be outdone by the makers of ChatGPT and Claude, who every agreed to promote their companies to the federal government for $1 per company, Google has agreed to even deeper low cost phrases, pitching its numerous government-capable AI merchandise for simply $0.47 per company, legitimate by means of 2026.
The half-a-buck Google AI deal is a part of the Common Companies Administration’s OneGov buying technique that seeks to streamline the buying of merchandise for federal businesses. Companies trying so as to add some Google Gemini AI to their operations, as an illustration, will not want to ascertain new phrases with Google underneath the $0.47 deal. As a substitute, they merely comply with phrases beforehand negotiated on behalf of the entire federal authorities by the GSA.
And like the opposite current low cost AI offers introduced by GSA as a part of its OneGov contracting initiative, Google’s additionally expires after a yr. Companies that join discounted companies at this time and turn out to be depending on them haven’t any manner of understanding what comes after the low cost interval ends. Google informed us that though it’s not certain, with a spokesperson solely saying that it might discover choices towards the tip of the low cost interval.
As we identified in one other OneGov story, these offers open the potential of a brand new era of vendor lock-in. Any specific model of AI may rapidly turn out to be indispensable to an company’s workload earlier than anybody is aware of what the long-term price is.
That is a part of the rationale each prior AI OneGov offers with OpenAI and Anthropic have been challenged by AI agency Ask Sage and its founder, former Air Power and Area Power Chief Software program Officer Nicolas Chaillan.
Ask Sage’s bid protests, copies of which have been considered by The Registerargue that the reductions may result in vendor lock-in in violation of the federal government’s Federal Acquisition Regulation, in addition to violating necessities pertaining to business pricing and competitors. Ask Sage, we be aware, offers a vendor-agnostic AI platform for presidency businesses and is protesting the bid as an celebration.
Challan Informed The Register of various different considerations he has in regards to the OneGov contracts that we’re nonetheless trying into, together with the truth that the contracts with OpenAI and Anthropic are nonetheless non-public regardless of his asking as a part of the bid protest course of. Well timed bid protests are grounds to halt an award, however Authorities Accountability Workplace dockets for the protest don’t point out whether or not that criterion has been met with regard to the OpenAI and Anthropic offers.
“The $1 deal was already far outdoors the bounds of what may fairly maintain safe, enterprise-grade AI for presidency,” Chaillan informed us in an emailed assertion. “Google’s 47-cent provide takes that even additional. Pricing this low isn’t about serving businesses — it’s about forcing dependence on a single vendor, hiding future prices, and squeezing out truthful competitors. What seems to be low-cost at this time will depart the federal government with larger prices, fewer choices, and higher threat tomorrow.”
So as to add some further concern to the Google Gemini deal, it will not simply include the standard government-certified AI companies, agentic bots, analysis instruments and the like. The GSA took the time to spell out that authorities businesses have been additionally getting “video and picture era capabilities” as a part of the deal, if that is the type of factor that considerations you.
The GSA did not reply to questions earlier than publication. ®
