OpenAI shifts partners
OpenAI publicly emphasized a closer alliance with Amazon/AWS while criticizing Microsoft for limiting its enterprise reach and distancing itself from Anthropic in internal messaging. The memo frames a redistribution of enterprise hosting preferences that could affect where customers choose to run advanced models. (cnbc.com) (axios.com)
OpenAI is telling staff that Amazon, not Microsoft, is now central to its next enterprise push. (cnbc.com) In a memo sent Sunday, April 12, chief revenue officer Denise Dresser wrote that Microsoft had been “foundational” but had also “limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are,” especially customers already building on Amazon Bedrock. CNBC reported the memo on April 13. (cnbc.com) Axios reported the same memo also took aim at Anthropic, with OpenAI arguing internally that its rival’s reported revenue growth and cloud positioning were being overstated. The memo described the market as intensely competitive as OpenAI tried to hold large business customers. (axios.com) The immediate backdrop is a new Amazon deal announced last month. OpenAI said Amazon would invest up to $50 billion, starting with $15 billion, and that Amazon Web Services would become the exclusive third-party cloud distribution provider for OpenAI Frontier. (openai.com) That arrangement gives OpenAI a direct route into companies that already buy cloud services from Amazon Web Services instead of Microsoft Azure. OpenAI also said its new Stateful Runtime Environment for agents will run natively in Amazon Bedrock, Amazon’s platform for building with outside artificial intelligence models. (openai.com) Microsoft is still deeply tied to OpenAI, and both companies said as recently as March that their partnership remained “strong and central.” OpenAI said Microsoft keeps its exclusive license and access to OpenAI intellectual property, while collaborations such as the Amazon deal were already contemplated under their agreements. (openai.com) The relationship had already been loosened before this memo surfaced. In an October 28, 2025 statement, OpenAI said a new definitive agreement with Microsoft preserved key terms but added provisions so each company could “innovate and grow independently.” (openai.com) Microsoft’s earlier position had been tighter. In a January 21, 2025 post, Microsoft said the OpenAI application programming interface was exclusive to Azure and available through Azure OpenAI Service. (microsoft.com) CNBC said OpenAI declined to comment on the memo, and Microsoft did not respond to its request for comment. Axios reported Anthropic did not comment. (cnbc.com)
