Kristina Roberts
Microsoft has long been known as one of the strongest players in the world of artificial intelligence (AI). With its big partnership with OpenAI—the creators of ChatGPT—Microsoft became even more powerful in the tech world. But now, this strong connection might be starting to shake. People are beginning to ask, “Is Microsoft’s hold over AI in the US getting weaker?”
Microsoft and OpenAI teamed up a while ago, and it was a big deal. Microsoft got special access to OpenAI’s most advanced AI tools and ideas. This helped Microsoft’s own cloud service, Azure, grow very fast. In fact, between April and June, Azure is expected to have made about 35% more money than it did in the same time last year. That’s a huge jump! Many believe it happened because of Microsoft’s access to OpenAI’s cool and useful AI technology.
Thanks to this partnership, Microsoft was doing really well. Its company value got close to $4 trillion! That’s a lot of zeros. Investors, who put money into Microsoft, were happy. They thought Microsoft had a strong lead in the AI race. But now, things are starting to change.
OpenAI is no longer working only with Microsoft. It is also turning to other companies like Google, Oracle, and CoreWeave for cloud help. These companies also offer computing services that are used to run big AI programs. OpenAI recently made a deeper deal with Oracle, planning to use 4.5 gigawatts of data center power from them. That’s a big amount of computing power! It also started using Google Cloud services too.
Because of this, people are wondering if Microsoft might lose its special place with OpenAI. This is happening while OpenAI is thinking about becoming a public company. If it does, it will be called a public-benefit corporation. That means its main goal won’t just be to make money, but also to do good things for the public.
But here’s the twist: OpenAI cannot make this change without Microsoft’s permission. Microsoft has a big say in what OpenAI does because of the agreement they signed earlier. This is important for a massive funding plan led by SoftBank, a huge Japanese company. They want to invest $40 billion in OpenAI, but half of that money depends on OpenAI changing its company type by the end of this year.
Now there’s a disagreement between Microsoft and OpenAI. They are still trying to decide how much power and access Microsoft will keep once OpenAI becomes a public-benefit company. Microsoft might not want to lose its strong position, and OpenAI may want more freedom to work with other companies. This has created a sort of “deadlock,” meaning both sides are stuck and can’t move forward easily.
Even though things are getting tricky, some people still believe Microsoft has the upper hand. UBS, a group of financial experts, said, “Microsoft’s leadership earned enough credibility … such that the company will end up negotiating terms that will be in the interest of its shareholders.” In simple words, they trust Microsoft’s leaders to handle the situation well and to make choices that will help their investors.
Microsoft’s stock price—how much a share in the company is worth—has gone up more than 20% this year. That shows that many people still believe in the company and think it will continue to do well, even with all these changes.
Still, the big question remains: Is Microsoft’s lead in the AI race in the US in danger? If OpenAI keeps working more with Google, Oracle, and others, Microsoft may no longer be the number one name connected with cutting-edge AI. That could hurt its Azure business, which has been growing thanks to AI work.
It’s also important to watch what other tech companies are doing. For example, Alphabet, the company that owns Google, has started spending more money on its own cloud services. That’s a sign that the AI and cloud war is heating up. Microsoft might have to spend more too, just to keep up.
At the moment, Microsoft still has a lot going for it. It has a big lead in AI, strong cloud services, and lots of people trust the company. But if OpenAI continues moving toward other partners, Microsoft will need to rethink how it keeps its place at the top.
There’s also a big money angle here. If Microsoft and OpenAI cannot agree, it might affect OpenAI’s huge funding deal with SoftBank. And if that deal doesn’t happen, OpenAI might have less money to grow. That could slow down some of the amazing things AI companies are trying to do.
So what’s next? Will Microsoft and OpenAI fix their differences and stay close partners? Or will OpenAI start walking its own path, with help from Google and others? And if that happens, how will Microsoft respond?
These are the questions that everyone in the tech world is now asking. No one knows the full answer yet. But one thing is clear—big changes are happening in the world of AI and cloud computing in the US. And these changes could shape the future of both Microsoft and OpenAI.
Only time will tell whether Microsoft keeps its strong position or whether the AI crown will be shared with others.
