EXCLUSIVE: The General Services Administration struck a deal with Perplexity AI to offer the company’s artificial intelligence services to every government agency for 25 cents each, making it the 21st contract under the OneGov initiative.
The deal is the first of its kind, under the initiative to modernize how the government purchases goods and services, to offer a direct-to-consumer product for federal agencies. Previous deals the supply-side agency has made historically were through middle-man agencies, which help resell contracts to the government at a higher cost.
Perplexity’s AI services will allow federal workers to access real-time information that combines internet-scale knowledge with connections to the government’s technological systems to assist with day-to-day duties. GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service commissioner, Josh Gruenbaum, told FOX Business that this type of deal is “essential for integrating AI into federal government.”
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“As the federal government expands its use of AI, the government itself will innovate more and its needs from the leading edge of AI will only increase,” Jerry Ma, Perplexity’s vice president of policy, told FOX Business. “Perplexity is a natural partner for that.”
A senior GSA official said deals like this will help grow AI in the U.S. because it will broaden Perplexity’s use-case to further develop its systems, while advancing federal workers’ abilities.
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“This deal provides federal workers with an extremely powerful multi-model research tool which will enable them to increase efficiency and save time on work such as critical research projects, memos, contract and lease writing,” Gruenbaum said.
Perplexity says it hopes to make future deals with the federal government and has proven to provide services that have the security demands the government needs.
GSA has made similar deals with other AI companies, including OpenAi, xAI, Anthropic, Google’s Gemini and others through the Trump administration’s OneGov initiative.
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