OpenAI to Reduce Microsoft Revenue Share From 20% to 8% by 2030

September 12 – OpenAI is preparing to significantly change its financial relationship with Microsoft and other commercial partners, according to a new report.

The company projects that by the end of this decade, it will reduce the share of revenue paid to its partners from the current 20% to around 8%. This reduction could leave OpenAI with more than $50 billion in additional revenue, funds it would otherwise have shared with external partners.

The report did not specify whether the $50 billion figure represents an annual calculation or an accumulated total over several years. Both OpenAI and Microsoft have declined to comment on the matter.

At the same time, discussions are continuing between the two companies over the cost of cloud servers that OpenAI rents from Microsoft. These talks are crucial, as OpenAI’s growing demand for computing power requires vast infrastructure support.

On Thursday, OpenAI and Microsoft confirmed they had signed a non-binding agreement to establish new terms for their relationship. This deal would allow OpenAI to restructure into a fully for-profit company, moving away from its current capped-profit model.

Under the existing arrangement, OpenAI’s nonprofit arm is set to receive more than $100 billion, about 20% of the company’s targeted $500 billion valuation in private markets. That would make it one of the best-funded nonprofit operations in the world, according to a memo from Bret Taylor, chairman of OpenAI’s nonprofit board.

The potential restructuring and renegotiation of terms mark a new chapter in the partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft. Microsoft has already invested billions into OpenAI and integrated its models into products such as Office, Bing, and Azure cloud services.