Microsoft and OpenAI have announced a new definitive agreement that updates their partnership. According to a joint statement, posted on Microsoft’s and OpenAI’s website, the deal redefines the terms of their collaboration and corporate structure.
As part of the changes, OpenAI has restructured its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation (PBC), which remains under the control of the non-profit OpenAI Foundation. Following this recapitalization, Microsoft holds a 27% stake in the new OpenAI Group PBC, which the companies value at approximately $135 billion. The OpenAI Foundation now holds equity worth around $130 billion, which it will use for philanthropic work, beginning with a $25 billion commitment to health research and AI resilience.
The new pact introduces several key changes to their partnership:
- Microsoft’s intellectual property rights to OpenAI’s models are extended through 2032 and now include models developed after achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI).
- Any declaration of AGI by OpenAI must now be verified by an independent expert panel.
- OpenAI gains more operational freedom, including the ability to develop some products with third parties and release certain open-weight models.
- Microsoft can now also pursue AGI research independently.
In the agreement, OpenAI has committed to purchasing an additional $250 billion in Azure cloud services. Microsoft will no longer have a right of first refusal to be OpenAI’s compute provider.
