Microsoft ends OpenAI AGI clause
- Microsoft and OpenAI said Monday they rewrote their partnership, ending the contract clause tied to artificial general intelligence and dropping Microsoft’s exclusive license. - Microsoft keeps a nonexclusive license to OpenAI models through 2032, while OpenAI keeps paying Microsoft a 20% revenue share through 2030, capped overall. - The rewrite lets OpenAI sell across rival clouds while Azure stays first and primary. (blogs.microsoft.com)
Microsoft and OpenAI rewrote their partnership on April 27, ending the clause that once turned “artificial general intelligence” into a contract trigger. (blogs.microsoft.com) (openai.com) The companies said Microsoft remains OpenAI’s primary cloud partner, and OpenAI products will still ship first on Azure unless Microsoft cannot or will not support the needed capabilities. (blogs.microsoft.com) The biggest change is exclusivity. Microsoft’s license to OpenAI models and products now runs through 2032, but it is no longer exclusive, and OpenAI can serve all of its products across any cloud provider. (blogs.microsoft.com) (cnbc.com) The money terms changed too. 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) CNBC reported that percentage is 20%, citing a person familiar with the agreement, meaning Microsoft still gets a cut of ChatGPT subscription revenue under the revised deal. (cnbc.com) The deleted AGI clause mattered because the old setup hinged on an undefined milestone: if OpenAI declared it had reached human-level or better AI, Microsoft’s rights could change. The new contract says those payments continue regardless of OpenAI’s technology progress. (cnbc.com) (theverge.com) The rewrite also clears room for OpenAI’s newer cloud deals. TechCrunch reported the old structure had created legal risk around OpenAI’s up-to-$50 billion Amazon agreement announced in February. (techcrunch.com) That Amazon deal included an initial $15 billion investment and another $35 billion tied to conditions the companies did not disclose. OpenAI also agreed to co-develop agent infrastructure on Amazon Web Services Bedrock and give AWS exclusive rights to serve its Frontier agent-building tool. (techcrunch.com) Microsoft is still deeply tied to OpenAI despite the loosening. CNBC said Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion since 2019, and Microsoft’s blog said it remains a major shareholder. (cnbc.com) (blogs.microsoft.com) The companies framed the rewrite as “long-term clarity,” not a breakup. But the new terms replace a science-fiction milestone with dates, caps, and a license that expires in 2032. (blogs.microsoft.com) (techcrunch.com)
