Microsoft Reaches Deal for Restructuring of OpenAI

Microsoft and OpenAI said on Thursday they have signed a non-binding deal for new relationship terms that would allow OpenAI to proceed to restructure itself into a for-profit company, marking a new phase of the most high-profile partnerships to fund the ChatGPT frenzy.

- Krystal Hu & Stephen Nellis

Details on the new commercial arrangements were not disclosed, but the companies said they were working to finalize terms of a definitive agreement. This marks a step forward in OpenAI's prolonged talks with Microsoft as the former seeks to raise capital under a more common governance structure and eventually go public to fund artificial intelligence development.

Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and another $10 billion at the beginning of 2023. Under their previous agreement, Microsoft had exclusive rights to sell OpenAI's software tools through its Azure cloud computing platform and had preferred access to the startup's technology.