As a high-profile trial against Elon Musk opens, OpenAI today experiences another major shift in its brief yet rich history: the end of its exclusivity agreement with Microsoft.
Microsoft announced on April 27 that it was relinquishing its exclusive access to OpenAI’s models and products, which will now allow OpenAI to market its technologies on competing cloud platforms, notably Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.
This rebalancing of the partnership isn’t entirely surprising. For months, relations between Microsoft and OpenAI had grown tense as OpenAI expanded cloud deals with other players. Last March, the Financial Times reported that Microsoft was considering legal action against Amazon and OpenAI over a $50 billion cloud deal that could have violated the exclusive partnership then in place.
The two parties ultimately found common ground, reflected in a revised agreement whose main terms were jointly disclosed.
What the new agreement provides
- Microsoft remains OpenAI’s primary cloud partner.
- Microsoft retains a license to OpenAI’s intellectual property until 2032.
- Microsoft will not pay a share of revenue to OpenAI under this agreement.
- New OpenAI products will be deployed first on Azure, unless Microsoft cannot or does not wish to integrate the new capabilities.
- Beyond this priority, OpenAI is free to distribute its technologies on other cloud platforms, including AWS and Google Cloud.
Yet even if the exclusivity disappears, the partnership remains central. Azure retains a right of first look on OpenAI’s innovations, a significant advantage in a fiercely competitive cloud market.
