Microsoft alters OpenAI cloud terms

Microsoft and OpenAI have rewritten their cloud deal, ending the exclusivity that made Azure the only place to sell OpenAI’s products through a major cloud rival. (reuters.com) (blogs.microsoft.com) The companies said Microsoft remains OpenAI’s primary cloud partner, but OpenAI can now serve “all of its products” to customers across any cloud provider. Microsoft also keeps access to OpenAI intellectual property through 2032. (blogs.microsoft.com) (reuters.com) Reuters reported Microsoft will receive 20% of OpenAI revenue until 2030 under the revised terms, with the total payout now subject to an undisclosed cap. OpenAI’s commitment to spend at least $250 billion on Azure by 2032 remains in place. (reuters.com) (geekwire.com) This changes a relationship Microsoft began building with a $1 billion investment in 2019 and later expanded to more than $13 billion. For years, that backing helped make Azure the commercial home for OpenAI’s models. (reuters.com) (blogs.microsoft.com) Microsoft had already loosened part of that arrangement in January 2025, when it said new capacity would move from outright exclusivity to a right-of-first-refusal model. Monday’s rewrite goes further by letting OpenAI distribute products across rival clouds. (blogs.microsoft.com) (axios.com) Amazon moved quickly to claim the opening. Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said OpenAI models will be available on Amazon Bedrock “in the coming weeks,” alongside a Stateful Runtime Environment for artificial intelligence agents. (cnbc.com) (techcrunch.com) OpenAI and Amazon had already announced a February 27 partnership that included a planned Stateful Runtime Environment on Bedrock and up to $50 billion of Amazon investment, starting with $15 billion. The Microsoft rewrite removes the contract obstacle that had hung over that deal. (openai.com) (aboutamazon.com) (techcrunch.com) OpenAI told employees earlier this month that the Microsoft partnership had been “foundational” but had also limited its enterprise reach, according to Reuters and CNBC. Analyst Gil Luria told Reuters the change should make AWS and Google Cloud customers more willing to consider OpenAI alongside Anthropic. (reuters.com) (cnbc.com) Microsoft shares fell as much as 1.3% after the news before finishing roughly unchanged, Reuters reported. The new terms give OpenAI more room to chase compute and customers, while Microsoft keeps revenue, product rights, and Azure priority. (reuters.com)