Microsoft drops AGI clause

Microsoft and OpenAI rewrote their partnership on April 27, ending Microsoft’s exclusive rights to OpenAI technology and dropping the old AGI trigger. (blogs.microsoft.com) (openai.com) The new contract keeps Microsoft as OpenAI’s primary cloud partner, and OpenAI products will still ship first on Azure unless Microsoft cannot support the needed capabilities. OpenAI can now serve all of its products across any cloud provider. (blogs.microsoft.com) (openai.com) Microsoft will keep a license to OpenAI models and products through 2032, but that license is now non-exclusive. Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI, while OpenAI will keep paying Microsoft through 2030 at the same percentage, subject to a total cap. (blogs.microsoft.com) (cnbc.com) AGI, or artificial general intelligence, is the industry’s label for a system that can match or exceed human performance across a wide range of tasks. Earlier versions of the Microsoft-OpenAI deal tied some rights and economics to that threshold, but the amended agreement says the payments now continue independent of OpenAI’s technology progress. (cnbc.com) (datacenterdynamics.com) The rewrite gives OpenAI room to sell into companies that already run on Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud instead of forcing them onto Azure. Reuters reported that the new terms clear the way for OpenAI to strike deals with rivals to Microsoft, including Amazon. (reuters.com) (cnbc.com) Microsoft is still deeply tied to OpenAI financially. CNBC said Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019, and both companies said Microsoft will continue to participate directly in OpenAI’s growth as a major shareholder. (cnbc.com) (openai.com) The companies had already reworked their relationship in October 2025 after OpenAI’s restructuring, and this is the second major rewrite in about six months. Reuters described the latest changes as a sweeping shift in one of the artificial-intelligence industry’s central alliances. (reuters.com) (businessinsider.com) OpenAI revenue chief Denise Dresser wrote earlier in April that the partnership had “limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are,” according to CNBC. The amended deal answers that complaint without ending the Azure relationship. (cnbc.com) (blogs.microsoft.com) The result is a simpler arrangement with dates, licenses and payment caps instead of an undefined AGI milestone. Microsoft and OpenAI are still partners, but the contract now looks more like a multi-cloud commercial pact than a bet on who declares AGI first. (openai.com) (reuters.com)