Microsoft ends OpenAI exclusivity

Microsoft and OpenAI rewrote their alliance on April 27, ending Microsoft’s exclusive license to OpenAI technology and letting OpenAI sell across any cloud. (blogs.microsoft.com) (openai.com) The new terms keep Microsoft as OpenAI’s primary cloud partner, and OpenAI products will still ship first on Azure unless Microsoft declines or cannot support the needed capabilities. (blogs.microsoft.com) Microsoft said its license to OpenAI models and products now runs through 2032 on a non-exclusive basis. Microsoft also said it will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI. (blogs.microsoft.com) OpenAI will keep paying Microsoft a revenue share through 2030 at the same percentage, but the total payout is now capped and no longer tied to any artificial general intelligence milestone. (blogs.microsoft.com) (cnbc.com) That is a sharp change from January 21, 2025, when Microsoft said OpenAI’s application programming interface was exclusive to Azure and Microsoft’s access to OpenAI intellectual property would continue through the contract’s 2030 term. (blogs.microsoft.com) The rewrite gives OpenAI room to sell directly into Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud accounts that had been harder to reach under the old structure. Reuters reported the change clears the way for deals with rivals including Amazon. (reuters.com) CNBC reported a person familiar with the agreement said Microsoft’s continuing cut remains 20%, meaning Microsoft still gets a slice of ChatGPT subscription revenue through 2030. (cnbc.com) Reuters reported Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019, and OpenAI’s commitment to buy at least $250 billion of Azure services by 2032 remains in place. (reuters.com) The companies described the amendment as a simplification, not a breakup. The deal still keeps Azure first in line, but it no longer keeps everyone else out. (blogs.microsoft.com)