OpenAI and Microsoft amend partnership to loosen cloud exclusivity

OpenAI and Microsoft have amended their partnership, loosening the cloud exclusivity that has defined their alliance while keeping Microsoft as OpenAI’s primary cloud partner.

In statements posted on April 27, both companies said OpenAI can now serve its products across any cloud provider. Microsoft said its license to OpenAI intellectual property through 2032 is now non-exclusive, and Reuters reported that the change opens the door for OpenAI to work more freely with rivals including Amazon and Google.

The revised agreement also changes the money flow between the two companies. Microsoft will no longer pay revenue share to OpenAI, while OpenAI’s revenue-share payments to Microsoft continue through 2030, subject to a cap.

The companies presented the move as a new phase in a long-running relationship rather than a breakup. Microsoft said Azure remains the primary cloud for OpenAI products unless Microsoft cannot support required capabilities.

The timing matters because the partnership reset comes as OpenAI faces another high-profile legal fight. Elon Musk’s lawsuit over the company’s for-profit conversion is moving through trial proceedings, keeping OpenAI’s structure and strategy under intense scrutiny.

The immediate question is how quickly OpenAI will use the new flexibility in practice and whether the revised terms lead to broader infrastructure deals beyond Microsoft.