New Delhi: Microsoft and OpenAI have reworked their long-standing partnership, ending the exclusive arrangement that allowed Microsoft to be the sole seller of OpenAI’s artificial intelligence models. The revised deal now gives OpenAI the flexibility to enter partnerships with Microsoft’s rivals, including Amazon and Google.
As per media reports, the renegotiated pact marks a major shift in one of the most significant alliances in the AI industry. While Microsoft will continue to remain OpenAI’s primary cloud partner, the new terms allow the ChatGPT maker to strike cloud and infrastructure deals with other companies, helping it expand its enterprise business and secure more computing power.
Microsoft has invested around $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019, a move that played a key role in the startup’s rapid rise in the AI space and also strengthened Microsoft’s Azure cloud business. However, tensions had reportedly been building as OpenAI sought greater freedom to work with other cloud providers.
Under the revised agreement, Microsoft will retain access to OpenAI’s intellectual property through 2032 and will continue to receive a 20% share of OpenAI’s revenue until 2030, subject to an undisclosed cap. The updated terms also remove a clause that would have allowed OpenAI to stop payments if it achieved artificial general intelligence (AGI), media reports stated.
The move is expected to help OpenAI compete more effectively in the enterprise AI market, especially against rivals such as Anthropic. Industry analysts believe the end of exclusivity will make it easier for customers of Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud to adopt OpenAI’s products.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has also indicated that OpenAI’s models will soon be available directly to developers on AWS in the coming weeks, further widening access to its AI offerings.
At the same time, Microsoft has been reducing its dependence on OpenAI by building its own AI models and integrating third-party models into products such as Microsoft 365 Copilot. Analysts see the revised partnership as a positive step for both companies, while also helping Microsoft address ongoing antitrust scrutiny in the US, UK, and Europe.