Microsoft Secures Royalty-Free Access to OpenAI AI Through 2030 in Revised Partnership

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addressed the impact of the company's revised partnership with OpenAI on its financials during a Wednesday earnings call, responding to a Wall Street analyst's question. Nadella stated that Microsoft has retained access to OpenAI’s intellectual property, including its models and agent products, but no longer has to pay for this access.

Nadella noted the deal provides Microsoft royalty-free access to OpenAI's advanced AI through 2030, while OpenAI expands non-exclusive partnerships.

TechCrunch reported. OpenAI announced exclusive AI products with Amazon, and Sam Altman conducted interviews about the collaboration alongside AWS CEO Matt Garman. Microsoft reported earnings on Wednesday, covering the last full quarter under the previous OpenAI deal.

The company’s AI business has surpassed an annual revenue run rate of $37 billion, up 123% year-over-year. Nadella noted that OpenAI remains a large customer for Microsoft on the AI accelerator side and other compute areas. Microsoft holds a 27% stake in OpenAI, according to Nadella.

OpenAI committed to buy more than $250 billion worth of Microsoft’s cloud services, TechCrunch reported. Nadella highlighted Microsoft's broad offerings in AI models. ' Over 10,000 customers have used more than one model from Microsoft, he added.

The partnership adjustments come amid OpenAI's expanding collaborations, including the Amazon deal announced immediately after the Microsoft revisions. TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is scheduled for October 13-15, 2026, in San Francisco, CA. The event will gather 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation.

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