Microsoft and OpenAI signed a definitive agreement on October 28, 2025, extending Microsoft's rights to OpenAI models and products through 2032. Microsoft announced the agreement in an official blog post. The deal sets terms for model access, licensing, compute commitments, and artificial general intelligence (AGI) governance.
Microsoft locks in OpenAI partnership through 2032
Microsoft said the agreement formalizes the partnership and clarifies model access and licensing. In the announcement, the company described itself as OpenAI's "frontier model partner."
Microsoft also disclosed an approximately 27 percent stake on an as-converted diluted basis, which it valued at about $135 billion.
Key details
Microsoft highlighted the following terms in the agreement:
- Exclusive IP rights to OpenAI models and Azure API exclusivity remain in place until any AGI declaration.
- Any AGI declaration will be reviewed by an independent expert panel.
- OpenAI contracted to purchase an incremental $250 billion of Azure services.
- Microsoft relinquished its prior right of first refusal to serve as OpenAI's compute provider.
- OpenAI may jointly develop some products with third parties.
- API products built with third parties must still run on Azure.
- OpenAI may provide API access to U.S. government national security customers on any cloud.
- OpenAI may release certain open-weight models.
- Microsoft's IP rights extend to post-AGI models through 2032, subject to safety guardrails.
Microsoft characterized the agreement as the next chapter of the partnership. The terms apply across models, products, and governance.
Background context
Microsoft and OpenAI announced an extended partnership on January 23, 2023, which included a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment and named Azure as OpenAI's exclusive cloud provider. Read the 2023 announcement here.
Microsoft first invested in OpenAI in 2019 to support computing at scale, introducing Azure as OpenAI's preferred cloud for training and services. The 2019 announcement is available here. Today's agreement updates the relationship under a definitive structure.
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