Microsoft is losing its exclusive access to OpenAI’s technology. OpenAI is now free to offer its products through any cloud provider, while Microsoft remains the primary partner. Amazon Web Services is first in line to benefit from this new freedom.
Microsoft and OpenAI have amended their partnership effective immediately. The change ends Microsoft’s years-long exclusivity as the cloud partner for OpenAI products. Azure will remain the primary cloud partner, and OpenAI products will still be rolled out on Azure first, unless Microsoft is unable or unwilling to support them.
Microsoft’s license to OpenAI’s intellectual property runs through 2032 but is now non-exclusive. There is also a financial restructuring. Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI. Conversely, OpenAI will continue to pay a percentage to Microsoft until 2030, but that amount is now capped and no longer tied to technological milestones—including the potential achievement of artificial general intelligence.
AWS is ready to go
The revised agreement immediately opens the door for Amazon. AWS CEO Andy Jassy announced via LinkedIn that OpenAI models will become available to developers on Amazon Web Services “in the coming weeks.” “With this, builders will have even more choice to pick the right model for the right job,” Jassy writes.
In November 2025, OpenAI and AWS had already signed a multi-year cloud partnership worth $38 billion. That deal led to tensions: Microsoft considered legal action in March 2026 because the AWS deal potentially violated the exclusive Azure agreement.
Clear path for IPO
The revision is part of a broader strategic shift at OpenAI. In September 2025, a preliminary agreement with Microsoft had already paved the way for an IPO through the transition to a commercial company. In an internal memo cited by CNBC, OpenAI acknowledged that the partnership with Microsoft had been fundamental but had limited enterprise growth.
Microsoft remains a shareholder in OpenAI and will continue to participate in the company’s growth. Both parties announced they would continue to collaborate in other areas, such as scaling data center capacity, next-generation silicon, and cybersecurity.