We are excited to continue our strategic partnership with OpenAI and collaborate on Stargate. Today’s announcement complements the efforts the two companies have been working on together since 2019.
Key elements of our partnership will continue throughout the term of the agreement through 2030, with access to OpenAI’s IP, revenue sharing arrangements, and exclusivity to OpenAI’s APIs all continuing. Specifically:
Microsoft owns the rights to OpenAI IP (including models and infrastructure) for use within products such as Copilot. This means customers have access to the model that best suits their needs. The OpenAI API is exclusive to Azure, runs on Azure, and is also available through the Azure OpenAI service. The deal means customers will benefit from access to leading models on the Microsoft platform directly from OpenAI. Microsoft and OpenAI have a two-way revenue sharing agreement that ensures both companies benefit from new models and increased use of existing models. Microsoft continues to be a major investor in OpenAI, providing funding and capabilities to support OpenAI’s progress, and in turn benefiting from increased valuations.
In addition to this, OpenAI recently made a major new Azure commitment that will continue to support all OpenAI products and training. The new agreement also includes new capacity exclusivity changes, moving Microsoft to a right of first refusal (ROFR) model. To further support OpenAI, Microsoft has authorized OpenAI’s ability to build additional capabilities primarily for model research and training.
We are grateful for OpenAI’s continued partnership and look forward to seeing what the future holds.
