OpenAI reshapes Microsoft deal

OpenAI and Microsoft rewrote the commercial terms of one of artificial intelligence’s most important partnerships on April 27, 2026, loosening restrictions that had tied OpenAI’s products and intellectual property more tightly to Microsoft. The two companies said Microsoft remains OpenAI’s primary cloud partner and that OpenAI products will still ship first on Azure unless Microsoft cannot support the required capabilities. But the amended deal also lets OpenAI serve all of its products across any cloud provider, and Microsoft’s license to OpenAI models and products is now non-exclusive. The revised structure became more concrete on May 11, when Reuters reported that OpenAI had agreed to cap total revenue it shares with Microsoft at $38 billion, citing The Information and a person with knowledge of the arrangement. Microsoft had already said in April that revenue-share payments from OpenAI would continue through 2030 at the same percentage, subject to an overall cap, but did not publicly name the dollar amount. (openai.com) The changes matter because they redraw the boundary between a strategic backer and a preferred platform. Microsoft still has a central role in OpenAI’s cloud footprint and a license through 2032, while OpenAI now has more room to distribute products and strike partnerships elsewhere. ### What exactly changed in the Microsoft arrangement? April 27 is the key date. In separate posts, OpenAI and Microsoft said OpenAI can now serve all of its products to customers across any cloud provider, while Microsoft remains the primary cloud partner. (money.usnews.com) The companies also said Microsoft’s license to OpenAI intellectual property for models and products runs through 2032 and is now non-exclusive. (openai.com) Microsoft also said it will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI. OpenAI, by contrast, will continue making revenue-share payments to Microsoft through 2030 under the same percentage terms, subject to a total cap, according to the companies’ April disclosures and Reuters’ May 11 report. ### Where does the $38 billion figure come from? May 11 is when the number surfaced publicly. (openai.com) Reuters reported that OpenAI had agreed to cap total revenue shared with Microsoft at $38 billion, citing The Information and a person with knowledge of the arrangement. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report independently. (blogs.microsoft.com) CNBC reported on April 27 that the revenue-share percentage remains 20%, citing a person familiar with the confidential agreement. CNBC also reported that Microsoft no longer needs to decide how to respond if OpenAI determines it has reached artificial general intelligence, removing one of the more unusual features of the earlier arrangement. ### Does Azure still have a special role? (money.usnews.com) Azure still holds the inside track. OpenAI and Microsoft both said OpenAI products will ship first on Azure unless Microsoft cannot and chooses not to support the necessary capabilities. That language preserves Azure’s preferred position even as OpenAI gains the right to serve products on other clouds. February 27 adds another detail. In a joint statement that month, Microsoft said any stateless API calls to OpenAI models resulting from collaborations with third parties, including Amazon, would be hosted on Azure, and that OpenAI’s first-party products would continue to be hosted on Azure. (cnbc.com) ### Why does the Malta agreement matter in this context? (openai.com) May 16 brought a separate signal about how OpenAI plans to distribute products beyond its Microsoft-centered structure. OpenAI and the Government of Malta said they were launching what OpenAI called a “world’s first” partnership to roll out ChatGPT Plus to all Maltese citizens, paired with an AI literacy course. Malta is a government customer and a national rollout, not just a software integration. (blogs.microsoft.com) OpenAI said the initiative is designed to provide access to ChatGPT Plus and practical AI training for residents, giving a concrete example of the broader partnership freedom OpenAI now has under its revised commercial setup. That reading is an inference from the timing and the new contract terms, not a statement either company made explicitly. (openai.com) ### What should builders and enterprise customers watch next? 2030 and 2032 are now the key dates in the paperwork. Revenue-share payments from OpenAI to Microsoft continue through 2030 under the capped structure, while Microsoft’s non-exclusive license to OpenAI models and products runs through 2032. May 16 is the next live test of OpenAI’s broader distribution strategy. (openai.com) OpenAI and Malta said ChatGPT Plus access for Maltese citizens and the accompanying AI literacy course would be rolled out under their new partnership. (openai.com) (blogs.microsoft.com)