Microsoft and OpenAI have a new deal that could clear the way for an IPO

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella (L), speaks with OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, who joined by video during the Microsoft Build 2025, league successful Seattle, Washington connected May 19, 2025.

As OpenAI attempts to restructure itself and yet spell public, a hurdle for the startup, precocious valued astatine $500 billion, is its progressively analyzable partnership with Microsoft.  On Thursday afternoon, the 2 companies released this joint statement astir an statement they’ve reached.

Microsoft & OpenAI:

Microsoft and OpenAI person signed a non-binding memorandum of knowing (MOU) for the adjacent signifier of our partnership. We are actively moving to finalize contractual presumption successful a definitive agreement. Together, we stay focused connected delivering the champion AI tools for everyone, grounded successful our shared committedness to safety.

Microsoft has invested $13 cardinal successful OpenAI since 2019, and shares successful the gross earned by ChatGPT arsenic good arsenic its API. Microsoft besides present includes OpenAI arsenic a competitor, allows OpenAI to thin connected different unreality providers for compute power, and has started to summation its reliance connected its ain AI models.

In a institution municipality hallway gathering connected Thursday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and AI main Mustafa Suleyman committed to “significant investments” successful its ain models. “We should person the capableness to physique satellite people frontier models successful location of each sizes, but we should beryllium precise pragmatic and usage different models wherever we request to,” said Suleyman.

There was 1 circumstantial item astir the statement with Microsoft released by OpenAI in different statement, saying that its nonprofit genitor institution volition proceed to clasp authorization implicit the for-profit business, with an equity involvement worthy much than $100 billion. 

Other philanthropies and nonprofits person reportedly pushed backmost against OpenAI’s antithetic restructuring plan, and the attorneys wide of California and Delaware person opened investigations. In its announcement, OpenAI said, “We proceed to enactment with the California and Delaware Attorneys General arsenic an important portion of strengthening our approach, and we stay committed to learning and acting with urgency to guarantee our tools are adjuvant and harmless for everyone, portion advancing information arsenic an industry-wide priority.”