OpenAI Rosalind Academic Plan gives U.S. university labs up to 30 free ChatGPT Business seats for 12 months
OpenAI launched the Rosalind Academic Plan. A PI or lab lead at a U.S. university applies for the lab, and approved labs get up to 30 ChatGPT Business Standard seats at no cost for 12 months, with ChatGPT, Codex, and access to the GPT-Rosalind life sciences model after trusted-access approval.
The briefing
OpenAI introduced the Rosalind Academic Plan on October 15, 2026. It is aimed at research labs at U.S. universities, especially in the life sciences. Approved labs get a free ChatGPT Business workspace plus access to GPT-Rosalind, OpenAI's dedicated life sciences model.
What you get
Approved labs receive up to 30 ChatGPT Business Standard seats at $0 per user per month for up to 12 months. A payment card is required during setup, and the offer you accept shows the end date of the free period and the terms that apply afterward.
Each seat includes ChatGPT and Codex, with access to all commercially available OpenAI frontier models under the normal Business usage limits. After trusted-access approval, the lab lead can enable GPT-Rosalind and Rosalind Workbench for members, with specialized tools for medicinal chemistry, genomics, wet-lab assistance, and other research work.
API access and API credits are not included. Research data is not used for training by default, and Zero Data Retention is not available under this offer.
Who can apply
The plan is currently limited to academic labs at U.S. universities. A PI or designated lab lead applies on behalf of the whole lab; individual researchers, unaffiliated researchers, and commercial organizations are not eligible. All members need a verified institutional email on the same domain as the PI, so visiting researchers from other institutions cannot be added.
If your university already has an OpenAI Enterprise agreement, request GPT-Rosalind through that Enterprise process instead.
How to apply
- The PI signs in to the academic-lab application with the ChatGPT account tied to their .edu email and verifies the address.
- Provide the institution, department, lab name, lab website, and intended research use, plus the members who need access and a trained biosafety contact designated by the institution.
- Complete Persona identity verification and submit. OpenAI emails you if the lab is approved.
- Follow the setup steps on the application status page to accept the offer, create the workspace, add lab members, and enable GPT-Rosalind for them.
Official pages: Rosalind Academic Plan announcement · OpenAI Help Center guide.