Microsoft and OpenAI have revised their partnership agreement, introducing changes to cloud exclusivity, intellectual property (IP) licensing, and revenue-sharing terms, according to a Microsoft corporate blog post published Monday.
The amended agreement states that Microsoft will remain OpenAI’s primary cloud partner, with its products continuing to launch first on Microsoft Azure unless it “cannot and chooses not to support the necessary capabilities.” However, OpenAI will now be able to offer its products across other cloud providers.
“The greater predictability in the amended agreement strengthens our joint ability to build and operate AI platforms at scale,” Microsoft said in the statement.
The revision also changes the structure of IP access. Microsoft will retain licensing rights to OpenAI’s models and products through 2032, but the license will shift from exclusive to non-exclusive, allowing OpenAI to work more freely with other partners.
In a significant financial adjustment, Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI. Instead, OpenAI will continue to share revenue with Microsoft through 2030 at an unchanged percentage, though payments will be subject to a cap. Microsoft will also remain a major shareholder in OpenAI.
The companies said the updated terms aim to “simplify” collaboration while allowing both sides to pursue independent opportunities.
The partnership, first formalised in 2019 and expanded through multi-billion-dollar investments, has been central to the commercialisation of generative AI tools. Microsoft has integrated OpenAI models into products such as its Copilot offerings, while OpenAI has relied heavily on Azure’s infrastructure to train and deploy models.
Microsoft has committed a total of $13 billion to OpenAI, with $11.6 billion deployed as of September 2025, according to regulatory filings. Following OpenAI’s recapitalisation, Microsoft said it holds a roughly 27% stake in the company, valued at about $135 billion.
Microsoft also reported a $7.6 billion increase in net income linked to its OpenAI investment in the October–December 2025 quarter, TechCrunch reported. A blog post published in October last year said OpenAI had agreed to purchase up to $250 billion in Microsoft Azure services
Microsoft said joint efforts with OpenAI will continue across areas, including data centre expansion, custom silicon development, and cybersecurity applications.
“From scaling gigawatts of new datacenter capacity to collaborating on next-generation silicon, we’re excited to keep partnering,” the company said.
ALSO READ: The Playground is Closed: 10 Hard Truths from the Cisco AI Summit
