Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (right) greets OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the OpenAI DevDay event in San Francisco on November 6, 2023.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
MicrosoftAnd OpenAI’s relationship has officially gotten more complicated.
On Tuesday, Microsoft added the AI startup to its list of competitors in the company’s latest annual report, a list that has included mega-cap contenders for years. Amazon, apologize, Google And meta.
Microsoft has a long-term partnership with OpenAI, acting as the exclusive cloud provider and using AI models in products for commercial and consumer customers. Microsoft is the largest investor in OpenAI, reportedly investing $13 billion in the company.
But the new casting shows they’re moving into each other’s territory.
In its submission, Microsoft singled out OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT chatbot, as a competitor in AI-powered search and news advertising. Last week, OpenAI unveiled a prototype of a search engine called SearchGPT.
Some companies choose to pay OpenAI for access to their models. Others use Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service. For those looking for an alternative to ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot is also available through the Bing search engine and the Windows operating system.
An OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC that there has been no change in the relationship between the two companies, and that their partnership was formed with the understanding that they would compete with each other. Microsoft remains a good partner for OpenAI, the spokesperson said.
Still, this year has been a year full of drama.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly wasn’t briefed by the OpenAI board before it ousted CEO Sam Altman in November. After Altman quickly returned, OpenAI gave Microsoft a non-voting board seat. Microsoft gave up that seat earlier this month.
In March, Nadella brought in Mustafa Suleiman, co-founder of DeepMind, an AI research company that predates OpenAI and was acquired by Google in 2014. Suleiman, who co-founded and led startup Inflection AI, was named CEO of a new division called Microsoft AI, and several Inflection employees joined him.
Nadella maintains a close relationship with Altman.
“One of the things I love about Sam is that he calls me every day and says, ‘I need more, I need more, I need more,’” Nadella recently told The New York Times.
see: OpenAI Announces Search Engine Called SearchGPT
