CSU renews its partnership with OpenAI in a $13M three-year agreement

On May 14, the CSU amended its contract with OpenAI, developer of ChatGPT,  extending the contract by three years at $13 million annually. 

The OpenAI agreement with CSU originally started on Jan. 17, 2025, with a plan to provide the CSU community with opportunities to thoughtfully integrate artificial intelligence into teaching, learning, research and operations across its 22 universities.

Before the initiative, access to AI tools were limited across CSU institutions. With the renewal of the contract, CSU and OpenAI plan to enhance student, faculty and graduates' preparedness for the growth of AI.

Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Cal State Fullerton, Chris Manriquez, stated that he believes the deal creates a space for campuses to tailor the technology to specific university needs. 

“I think it's a tremendous opportunity because it affords us the ability in academic environments and administrative environments to begin having conversations on how to leverage and utilize the tool, kind of to our best fit,” Manriquez said. 

This is the largest partnership that OpenAI has had with a higher education institution. This is also the biggest partnership CSU has with a technology firm compared to deals with other  companies such as Adobe, Google and IBM.