Microsoft and OpenAI Revise Partnership Agreement, Removing Exclusivity Through 2032

Microsoft and OpenAI amended their partnership agreement on April 27, 2026, ending the exclusive nature of Microsoft's license to OpenAI's intellectual property and halting revenue sharing from Microsoft to OpenAI. Under the new terms, Microsoft's license to OpenAI's models and products remains in place through 2032 but is now non-exclusive, allowing OpenAI to license its technology to any third party and on any cloud, including competitors like Google and Amazon.

Microsoft will no longer pay revenue to OpenAI, and the financial obligations OpenAI owes to Microsoft are capped at a fixed ceiling rather than extending indefinitely.

OpenAI stated that Microsoft will remain its primary cloud partner, with OpenAI products shipping first on Microsoft platforms, but the company can now make its products and services available across all clouds. A clause about artificial general intelligence in the original Microsoft-OpenAI agreement has been dropped, according to reports from The Verge.

Microsoft announced the changes on Monday morning, April 27, 2026, describing the deal as providing more flexibility for both companies.

The amended agreement redraws the $135 billion alliance between Microsoft and OpenAI, as reported by the Financial Times. Microsoft continues to license OpenAI's technology, maintaining its position as OpenAI's biggest financial partner. Altman added that OpenAI will continue to provide Microsoft with models and products until 2032.

Microsoft shares dropped around 1% in early Monday trading on April 27, 2026, following the announcement, per Forbes. The partnership originated in 2019 when Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI's for-profit arm, which was created that year as a capped entity. Since 2019, Microsoft has committed $13 billion in total to OpenAI’s commercial arm.

Microsoft owns around 27% of OpenAI, valued at approximately $225 billion. OpenAI's valuation stands at $852 billion after raising $122 billion in March 2026. In October 2025, Microsoft and OpenAI struck a major restructuring deal that converted OpenAI's for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation, removing the profit cap.

As part of that restructuring, OpenAI's original nonprofit board holds a controlling 26% stake. The timing of the April 27 announcement aligns with the start of a civil trial in Oakland, California, where jury selection began that day in a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, co-founder Greg Brockman, and Microsoft.

Musk, who left the OpenAI board in 2018, contributed roughly $38 million to OpenAI in its earliest years.

The trial is expected to run four weeks, with testimony scheduled from Altman, Musk, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Musk alleges that Altman and others illegally converted OpenAI from a nonprofit to a commercial entity, seeking to unwind the conversion, oust Altman, and disgorge profits, with damages claimed at $150 billion.