OpenAI terminates AI exclusivity agreement with Microsoft

issued Monday, April 27, 2026 · 11:19 p.m.

[NEW YORK] Microsoft and OpenAI have agreed to give up the software giant’s exclusive rights to sell the startup’s artificial intelligence model, paving the way for the ChatGPT maker to pursue deals with cloud computing rivals such as Amazon.

In exchange for ending the exclusivity that boosted Microsoft’s cloud sales at the beginning of the AI ​​boom, the world’s largest software maker will no longer take a revenue share on OpenAI products it resells on the cloud.

The companies announced the revised agreement in a joint statement on Monday (April 27).

The new agreement aims to simplify the complex relationship that has been the basis for the rise of OpenAI and the broader AI boom. OpenAI has since struck deals with multiple cloud providers, including Amazon, to meet the growing computing needs of building AI software and making it available to a wider range of users.

“The improved predictability of the revised agreement will strengthen our joint ability to build and operate AI platforms at scale and give both companies flexibility to pursue new opportunities,” OpenAI and Microsoft said in a statement.

Monday’s agreement paves the way for OpenAI’s models to appear on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and other cloud computing providers.

As part of an investment announced earlier this year, the Amazon division announced it is co-developing products hosted on AWS with OpenAI. Microsoft considered legal action based on the belief that this effort would almost certainly violate OpenAI’s exclusive rights to intellectual property. financial times It was reported last month.

Microsoft remains OpenAI’s “principal cloud provider,” and the startup’s new products will first be available on Microsoft’s cloud division, Azure.

The companies said there will be a cap on the revenue share OpenAI will pay for sales of its products. But the revised contract makes it more certain that OpenAI will continue to send these checks until that cap is reached, which was not disclosed.

Microsoft will receive a revenue share from OpenAI through 2030, regardless of the startup’s progress toward its goal of building artificial general intelligence, a system that can match human abilities across tasks.

Under the previous agreement, revenue sharing payments would have stopped if OpenAI reached that milestone.

As part of OpenAI’s reorganization as a for-profit business last year, Microsoft acquired a 27 percent stake in the AI ​​startup. The software giant has become a key stumbling block in OpenAI’s corporate transformation as the two companies negotiate complex terms of the partnership.

The relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI will be in the spotlight this week as the two companies face off against Elon Musk in court.

The billionaire accused OpenAI of abandoning its founding principles by turning it into a for-profit company with billions of dollars in backing from Microsoft. He is seeking up to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft.

Microsoft shares were down about 1% as New York markets opened on Monday. Amazon’s decline was less than 1%.

“We do not believe this contract amendment will be a major surprise to investors at this time,” Evercore ISI analysts said in a note to clients on Monday.

“Microsoft has increasingly expressed interest in a broader multi-model strategy, but OpenAI has a clear incentive to expand its sales more broadly across markets.” Bloomberg