OpenAI strikes new deal with Microsoft
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In the new agreement, Microsoft gets a 27% stake in OpenAI's for-profit business, the OpenAI Group PBC, worth around $135 billion.
Microsoft and OpenAI unveil a deal extending IP rights, adding independent AGI verification, and giving both sides more freedom while maintaining Azure ties.
Microsoft lifted a funding restriction on OpenAI that became a point of conflict after ChatGPT took off required more computing power.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella faced pushback even from the company’s cofounder and original CEO Bill Gates, he recalled during an interview on tech-focused YouTube channel TPBN. “Remember this was a nonprofit, and I think Bill [Gates] even said, ‘Yeah, you’re going to burn this billion dollars,'” Nadella said.
However, Microsoft revealed a major drop in profit due to what it termed was an “equity method investment” in OpenAI Group PBC, resulting in a 41-cents-per-share hit to its earnings and a $3.1 billion drop in its net income. Even so, the company’s bottom line was still healthy at $27.7 billion, up from $24.67 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Microsoft's (MSFT) 27% stake in OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) is currently valued at $135 billion, according to the two companies' latest for-profit agreement. This all comes ahead of Microsoft's fiscal first quarter earnings results due out after the closing bell on Wednesday.