April 27, 2026
Big Tech’s messy AI situationship
The next phase of the Microsoft OpenAI partnership – OpenAI
Microsoft and OpenAI go 'open relationship' as commenters smell a breakup
TLDR: Microsoft and OpenAI rewrote their deal: Azure stays first, but OpenAI can sell on any cloud; Microsoft’s license is non‑exclusive and it stops paying revenue share while OpenAI keeps paying until 2030. Commenters dub it an “open relationship,” debating AWS Bedrock access, compute commitments, and who really holds the power.
The new Microsoft–OpenAI pact landed, and the comment section immediately declared it an open relationship. The facts: Microsoft stays the main cloud home, OpenAI products still launch on Azure first, but OpenAI can now sell on any cloud. Microsoft keeps a license to OpenAI’s tech through 2032—now non‑exclusive. And the money twist? Microsoft stops paying OpenAI revenue share, while OpenAI keeps cutting Microsoft checks until 2030. Cue the drama.
Top take: users say both sides are hedging. One pointed to Microsoft’s fresh flirtation with Mistral—“first on Azure”—as proof they’re playing the field (link). Another corrected old memories of strict exclusivity, noting Microsoft already dipped a toe into Anthropic—so expect more Big Tech love triangles. Bean‑counters showed up asking how much of Azure’s machines OpenAI actually uses and whether that rumored $250B datacenter promise is even binding.
Meanwhile, policy nerds debated whether this frees OpenAI to sell its models directly on Amazon’s Bedrock (Amazon’s AI storefront). One skeptic said that’s still blocked—except maybe for the U.S. government—so “freedom” might be more press release than practice. Jokes flew: “conscious uncoupling,” “it’s not you, it’s Azure,” and “open marriage, closed wallets.” The vibe: a carefully staged “We’re still besties!” announcement that has everyone asking who really holds the keys to the compute—and the cash.
Key Points
- •Microsoft remains OpenAI’s primary cloud partner with Azure-first product launches, unless Azure cannot support needed capabilities.
- •OpenAI can now serve all its products across any cloud provider, increasing deployment flexibility.
- •Microsoft’s license to OpenAI IP for models and products runs through 2032 and is now non-exclusive.
- •Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI; OpenAI’s revenue share payments to Microsoft continue through 2030 at the same percentage and with a total cap.
- •The partnership includes joint efforts to scale datacenter capacity, collaborate on next-generation silicon, and apply AI to cybersecurity, with Microsoft remaining a major OpenAI shareholder.