Microsoft no longer has exclusivity in selling OpenAi’s artificial intelligence models, which can now strike deals with other major tech companies, rivals of the Big Tech led by Satya Nadella.
WHAT WILL CHANGE FOR OPENAI
The renegotiation of the pact with Microsoft should allow OpenAi to secure greater computing power, as well as help it in the competition with Anthropic, which in recent days has received substantial investments from Google ($10 billion, which could become $40 billion) and from Amazon ($5 billion, which could become $25 billion).
Both OpenAi and Anthropic are also working on their initial public offerings: the creator of ChatGpt could reach a valuation of $1.2 trillion, while the developer of Claude could reach $800 billion.
WHAT WILL CHANGE FOR MICROSOFT
The new terms could also prove positive for Microsoft, which is currently the largest financier of OpenAi, having invested $13 billion since 2019. The Big Tech, in fact, will remain OpenAi’s main partner in cloud computing, will have licenses to its intellectual property until 2032, and will receive a 20 percent share of its revenues until 2030 within a maximum limit that has not been disclosed. To date, however, OpenAi is operating at a loss.
The agreement also removes a clause that would have allowed OpenAi to stop payments to Microsoft upon reaching the so-called “general artificial intelligence,” meaning the evolution of current technology that promises to surpass the average human in cognitive tasks.
BETWEEN AZURE, AMAZON WEB SERVICES, AND GOOGLE CLOUD
In an internal document seen two weeks ago by Cnbc, OpenAi claimed that the partnership with Microsoft was limiting its ability to reach new customers, particularly companies using cloud computing platforms from Amazon and Google, which could not fully integrate OpenAi’s products due to its exclusive relationship with Microsoft. Now that this exclusivity has been removed, several companies might switch to OpenAi’s services instead of Anthropic’s.
– Also read: Are the clashes between Microsoft and OpenAI driving the two companies apart?
Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, however, has not been sidelined: OpenAi will continue to use its services for at least $250 billion in value through 2032, and Microsoft will retain the ability to offer OpenAi’s technologies in advance. The Big Tech will also no longer have to pay a share of its revenues to OpenAi for offering its models on Azure.
AN ADVANTAGE FOR MICROSOFT TOO?
The removal of exclusivity also means that Microsoft will no longer have to handle building all the data centers – expensive infrastructures because they require many advanced processors and a lot of energy – necessary for OpenAi’s technological progress. The resources freed up can be invested in developing proprietary language models: the company is working on this also as a way to reduce dependence on OpenAi.
