Microsoft was once the exclusive data center infrastructure provider for OpenAI to train and run AI models. Never. Coinciding with the announcement of Stargate, OpenAI’s new AI infrastructure deal with SoftBank, Oracle, and others, Microsoft said it has signed a new agreement with OpenAI that gives it a “right of first refusal” on new OpenAI cloud computing capacity. That means, going forward, Microsoft gets first choice on whether to host OpenAI’s AI workloads in the cloud – but if Microsoft can’t meet the demand, OpenAI can go to rival cloud providers. “OpenAI recently made a new Azure commitment that will continue to support all OpenAI products as well as training,” Microsoft said in a blog post. “To further support OpenAI, Microsoft has approved OpenAI’s ability to build additional capacity, especially for research and model training.” OpenAI blames a lack of available computing for delaying its product, and computing capacity is reportedly a source of tension between the AI company and Microsoft, a close collaborator and major investor. In June, Microsoft, under pressure from shareholders, allowed OpenAI to ink with Oracle for additional capacity. In the blast post, Microsoft reiterated that “key elements” of its longstanding partnership with OpenAI remain in place until 2030, including access to OpenAI IP, revenue sharing arrangements, and exclusivity on the OpenAI API. That’s assuming, of course, that OpenAI doesn’t achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) according to the definition the two companies previously agreed upon. While OpenAI develops AI systems that could generate at least $100 billion in revenue, Microsoft will lose access to the company’s technology, according to a reported agreement between the companies. OpenAI is said to be considering canceling the agreement in an effort to secure more Microsoft funding. “The OpenAI API is exclusive to Azure, runs on Azure and is also available through Azure OpenAI Services,” the blog post said. “This agreement means customers benefit from having access to leading models on the Microsoft platform and directly from OpenAI.” We’ve reached out to OpenAI and Microsoft for more information and will update this post if we hear back.
