OpenAI made its first university partnership with Arizona State to bring ChatGPT-fueled personalized AI tutors for students.
Starting in February, the students and faculties will have full access to the ChatGPT Enterprise for studies, course guides, tutoring, research, and more.
The Enterprise plan, initially intended for business suites, includes unlimited access to ChatGPT-4, OpenAI's latest innovation that is reportedly twice as fast as the free plan.
According to the ASU, the partnership underwent rigorous planning for six months to "harness the power of AI for creative and innovative endeavors."
The university is planning to further integrate "AI-driven projects" into its academic research and "streamline organizational processes."
Arizona State Accelerates AI Use in Acads
Even before the OpenAI partnership, ASU was among the state universities pushing for more AI applications within the campus over the past year.
The university even launched the AI Acceleration program, a dedicated team of technologists to develop "next generation" AI tools.
Its Knowledge Enterprise initiative, which is also currently exploring and activating AI models, has received up to $340 million in support funds for its research.
ASU Chief Information Officer Lev Gonick, who sealed the deal with OpenAI, expects the collaboration between the two parties "will empower new solutions" for both students and the university.
OpenAI Opens Up New Partnerships Amid Controversies
The ASU deal is the latest addition to OpenAI's growing list of partnerships as the AI firm diversifies its market amid growing concerns about its business practices.
OpenAI has sealed three major partnerships with Thomson Reuters, Axel Springer, and ASU in less than three months.
The announcements come in as the company faces several major copyright lawsuits, including one from the New York Times, accusing OpenAI of using its licensed content to train its AI models.
Several leaders in the tech industry have already criticized the company's approach to AI development following its huge success in the mainstream business last year.
