TL;DR
OpenAI and Microsoft changed their partnership on April 27, 2026, making Microsoft’s OpenAI license non-exclusive and allowing OpenAI to serve products through any cloud provider. The change follows OpenAI’s $122 billion funding round and moves key payments away from a contract trigger tied to AGI progress.
OpenAI and Microsoft amended their partnership on April 27, 2026, loosening Microsoft’s exclusive hold on OpenAI distribution and moving revenue-sharing terms away from OpenAI’s technology progress, a change that affects one of the most valuable commercial arrangements in artificial intelligence.
The companies said Microsoft remains OpenAI’s primary cloud partner and that OpenAI products will ship first on Azure unless Microsoft cannot and chooses not to support the required capabilities. OpenAI can now serve all of its products through any cloud provider, according to OpenAI’s announcement.
Microsoft will keep a license to OpenAI intellectual property for models and products through 2032, but that license is now non-exclusive. Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI, while OpenAI’s revenue-share payments to Microsoft continue through 2030 at the same percentage, subject to an undisclosed total cap.
The amendment came less than a month after OpenAI said it raised $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation, with Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank anchoring the round and Microsoft continuing to participate. OpenAI also said its infrastructure strategy now spans Microsoft, Oracle, AWS, CoreWeave and Google Cloud.
Why It Matters
The change matters because OpenAI’s growth now depends on access to vast amounts of capital, compute and cloud distribution. A partnership built around one main cloud provider and a contested AGI trigger was harder to square with OpenAI’s new funding base and multi-cloud plans.
For customers, the practical impact is wider access: OpenAI announced the next day that OpenAI models, Codex and managed agents would come to Amazon Bedrock in limited preview. For Microsoft, the revised deal preserves a long-term license and shareholder exposure while reducing exclusivity. For investors, it gives OpenAI a clearer commercial path as it raises and spends at infrastructure scale.
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Background
The AGI clause had been a pressure point in the Microsoft-OpenAI relationship. In October 2025, the companies said Microsoft would keep exclusive IP rights and Azure API exclusivity until artificial general intelligence was reached, and that any OpenAI declaration of AGI would need verification by an independent expert panel.
In February 2026, Microsoft said the contractual definition of AGI and the process for determining whether it had been achieved remained unchanged. By April 27, the companies had announced a broader amendment: Microsoft’s license became non-exclusive, OpenAI gained the right to serve products across any cloud provider, and revenue-share payments from OpenAI to Microsoft were made independent of technology progress.
Earlier reporting by The Information, summarized by TechCrunch, said Microsoft and OpenAI had used an internal financial definition of AGI tied to at least $100 billion in profits. That report was never the same as a public technical standard for AGI, and the full contracts have not been published.
“OpenAI can now serve all its products to customers across any cloud provider.”
— OpenAI, April 27, 2026
“Microsoft will continue to have a license to OpenAI IP for models and products through 2032.”
— OpenAI, April 27, 2026
“Once AGI is declared by OpenAI, that declaration will now be verified by an independent expert panel.”
— OpenAI and Microsoft, October 28, 2025
“The contractual definition of AGI and the process for determining if it has been achieved remains the same.”
— Microsoft, February 27, 2026
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What Remains Unclear
Several points remain unclear. The companies have not disclosed the revenue-share percentage, the total cap on OpenAI’s payments to Microsoft, or the full contract language. They also have not published a public technical definition of AGI or explained whether the expert-panel process still affects any rights outside the revised commercial payment terms.
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What’s Next
The next test is execution: OpenAI must expand distribution across AWS and other providers while continuing to ship first on Azure when Microsoft supports the required capabilities. Customers and investors will watch how fast OpenAI’s multi-cloud model grows, how Microsoft uses its non-exclusive license through 2032, and whether the companies release more detail on the remaining AGI process.
Source: Thorsten Meyer AI
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Key Questions
What changed in the Microsoft-OpenAI agreement?
Microsoft’s license to OpenAI models and products now runs through 2032 on a non-exclusive basis. OpenAI can serve products through any cloud provider, Microsoft no longer pays revenue share to OpenAI, and OpenAI’s payments to Microsoft continue through 2030 subject to a cap.
Did the companies say AGI has been reached?
No. The announcements do not say OpenAI or Microsoft has reached AGI. The change concerns contract rights, licensing, cloud distribution and payment terms.
Why did the AGI clause matter?
The AGI framework affected when certain Microsoft rights and revenue-sharing terms could change. Because OpenAI is now raising large sums and using multiple infrastructure partners, a contract trigger tied to AGI progress became a major business issue.
What does this mean for cloud customers?
OpenAI products are no longer limited to Microsoft’s cloud under the revised arrangement. OpenAI has already announced limited-preview access to OpenAI models, Codex and managed agents through Amazon Bedrock.
What is still unknown?
The full contract is private. The companies have not disclosed the payment cap, the exact revenue-share rate, or a public technical test for AGI.
Source: Thorsten Meyer AI
