Microsoft\u2019s complicated relationship with OpenAI is about to take an interesting turn. As the pair continue to renegotiate a contract to allow OpenAI to restructure into a for-profit company, OpenAI is preparing to release an open language AI model that could drive even more of a wedge between the two companies.<\/p>\n
Sources familiar with OpenAI\u2019s plans tell me that CEO Sam Altman<\/strong>\u2019s AI lab is readying an open-weight model that will debut as soon as next week with providers other than just OpenAI and Microsoft\u2019s Azure servers. OpenAI\u2019s models are typically closed-weight, meaning the weights (a type of training parameter) aren\u2019t available publicly.<\/p>\n The open nature of OpenAI\u2019s upcoming language model means companies and governments will be able to run the model themselves, much like how Microsoft and other cloud providers quickly onboarded DeepSeek\u2019s R1 model earlier this year. <\/p>\n I understand this new open language model will be available on Azure, Hugging Face, and other large cloud providers. Sources describe the model as \u201csimilar to o3 mini,\u201d complete with the reasoning capabilities that have made OpenAI\u2019s latest models so powerful. OpenAI has been demoing this open model to developers and researchers in recent months, and it has been openly soliciting feedback<\/a> from the broader AI community.<\/p>\n I reached out to OpenAI to comment on the imminent arrival of its open model, but the company did not respond in time for publication.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the first time that OpenAI has released an open-weight model since its release of GPT-2 in 2019, and it\u2019s also the first time we\u2019ve seen an open language model from OpenAI since it signed an exclusive cloud provider agreement<\/a> with Microsoft in 2023. That deal means Microsoft has access to most of OpenAI\u2019s models, alongside exclusive rights to sell them directly to businesses through its own Azure OpenAI services. But with an open model, there\u2019s nothing to stop rival cloud operators from hosting a version of it.<\/p>\n As I revealed in Notepad last month<\/a>, there\u2019s a complicated revenue-sharing relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI that involves Microsoft receiving 20 percent of the revenue that OpenAI earns for ChatGPT and the AI startup\u2019s API platform. Microsoft also shares 20 percent of its Azure OpenAI revenue directly with OpenAI. This new open model from OpenAI will likely have an impact on Microsoft\u2019s own AI business. The open model could mean some Azure customers won\u2019t need pricier options, or they could even move to rival cloud providers.<\/p>\n Microsoft\u2019s lucrative exclusivity deal with OpenAI has already been tested in recent months. Microsoft \u201cevolved\u201d its OpenAI deal earlier this year to allow the AI lab to get its own AI compute<\/a> from rivals like Oracle. While that was limited to the servers used for building AI models, this new open model will extend far beyond the boundaries of ChatGPT and Azure OpenAI. Microsoft still has first right of refusal to provide computing resources for OpenAI, but it has no control over an open language model.<\/p>\n OpenAI is preparing to announce the language model as an \u201copen model,\u201d but that terminology, which often gets confused with open-source, is bound to generate a lot of debate around just how open it is. That will all come down to what license is attached to it and whether OpenAI is willing to provide full access to the model\u2019s code and training details, which can then be fully replicated by other researchers.<\/p>\n Altman said in March<\/a> that this open-weight language model would arrive \u201cin the coming months.\u201d I understand it\u2019s now due next week, but OpenAI\u2019s release dates often change like the wind, in response to development challenges, server capacity, rival AI announcements, and even leaks. Still, I\u2019d expect it to debut this month if all goes well.<\/p>\n I\u2019m always keen to hear from readers, so please drop a comment here, or you can reach me at notepad@theverge.com<\/a> if you want to discuss anything else. If you\u2019ve heard about any of Microsoft\u2019s secret projects, you can reach me via email at notepad@theverge.com<\/a> or speak to me confidentially on the Signal messaging app, where I\u2019m tomwarren.01<\/a>. I\u2019m also tomwarren on Telegram, if you\u2019d prefer to chat there.<\/p>\n Thanks for subscribing to Notepad.<\/p>\n\n