Inside Microsoft's complicated relationship with OpenAI
Beyond the selfies between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and the friendly conversations between the pair on stage, all is not well with Microsoft's $13 billion AI investment. Over the past year, multiple reports have painted a picture of a Microsoft and OpenAI relationship that is straining under pressure.
As OpenAI battles for access to more compute power and less reliance on Microsoft, tensions have been rising during negotiations over the future of OpenAI's business and its Microsoft partnership. Microsoft backed down on being the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI earlier this year, but OpenAI still needs Microsoft's approval to convert part of its business to a for-profit company. That's led to a potentially explosive outcome.
OpenAI executives have now reportedly considered accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior, which could mean regulators look even more closely at the terms of Microsoft and OpenAI's contract for potential violations of antitrust laws. The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI's potential acquisition of AI coding tool Windsurf is at the heart of the latest standoff, as OpenAI wants Windsurf to be exempt from its existing contract with Microsoft.
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