OpenAI launches programs making ChatGPT cheaper for schools and nonprofits

OpenAI is making ChatGPT more accessible to schools and nonprofit organizations. In a pair of blog posts, the company shared that it’s launching a version of ChatGPT for universities, along with a program that lets nonprofits access ChatGPT at a discounted rate.

OpenAI says ChatGPT Edu will allow universities to “responsibly deploy AI to students, faculty, researchers, and campus operations.” It’s built on its faster GPT-4o model, which offers improved multimodal capabilities across text, vision, and audio.

For example, OpenAI says universities can use the tool to review student resumes, write grant applications, and assist professors with grading. ChatGPT for Edu offers “enterprise-level” security and doesn’t use data to train OpenAI’s models. It’s offered at an “affordable” rate for universities.

Additionally, OpenAI introduced OpenAI for Nonprofits, which gives nonprofit organizations access to ChatGPT Team at a cheaper rate of $20 per month per user. Nonprofits can apply for the discount on OpenAI’s website. Larger organizations that need more capabilities and security can also contact OpenAI to get ChatGPT Enterprise at a 50 percent discount.

These announcements come after another tumultuous few weeks at OpenAI. Several key researchers resigned, citing safety concerns, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman faced criticism for rolling out an AI voice that sounds eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson after the actor refused the role.

Meanwhile, former OpenAI board member Helen Toner, who helped lead a push to fire Altman last year, spoke out about the CEO during an interview on The TED AI Show podcast. Toner cited “multiple occasions” in which Altman provided inaccurate info about the company’s safety processes and evidence the board saw of Altman “lying and being manipulative in different situations.”