OpenAI appears to be in the process of tightening the security behind its use of language modeling (LLM) technology. Last week, they announced that in the future, companies that want to leverage their AI technology will have to go through an identity verification system before being allowed access to their AI technology for commercial use.
They have updated their FAQ page with an introduction to their new verification system called Verified Organization, which is a status that grants companies access to OpenAI’s latest language modeling and AI technology.
To obtain this status, a company needs to verify that the OpenAI API is accessible in their country, and an individual needs to use their ID card to verify the authenticity of their company.
This identity verification needs to be done every 90 days, and there is no additional payment required, especially if your company is already subscribed to OpenAI’s LLM plan. This identity verification is an additional step to ensure that their AI technology is used responsibly, and to curb theft of OpenAI’s intellectual property, which is one of their concerns regarding the rise of DeepSeek, the highly popular LLM from China.
It’s also worth noting that this Verified Organization certification is only for companies that use OpenAI’s technology and APIs to develop their own AI technology.
OpenAI also says that they support identity verification from 200 countries, and they say that this identity verification requirement will be extended over time. Currently, China is banned from using OpenAI’s technology such as ChatGPT.