OpenAI is considering a complaint about Microsoft's anti-competitive behavior.
Companies are arguing over IP, stakes in the new structure, and rights to Windsurf.
The transformation of OpenAI into a commercial company is at risk.
The company #OpenAI may file an antitrust complaint against #Microsoft amid the escalation of the conflict between partners. The AI giant is dissatisfied with the level of control from the corporation and is discussing the option of turning to regulators.
A possible lawsuit could affect the terms of the agreements made between the firms and publicly question Microsoft's behavior. The key conflict concerns the planned transformation of OpenAI into a partially commercial structure. For this, Microsoft's approval is needed, without which the company could lose up to $20 billion.
According to them, the negotiations are allegedly complicated by the AI giant's acquisition of the startup Windsurf for $3 billion. Microsoft, which has access to all of OpenAI's intellectual property, insists on similar rights regarding the new asset of the company.
Further escalation threatens to destroy the partnership that began in 2019 with Microsoft's $1 billion investment. Now the parties are competing for various segments of the AI market. OpenAI is striving for 'cloud independence,' while its partner is developing its own artificial intelligence-based products.
The dispute also concerns Microsoft's future stake in the new structure. The corporation allegedly demands more than OpenAI is willing to provide. At the same time, the AI company wants to sell technologies through other cloud services, but the current conditions give Microsoft exclusive rights to distribute them through Azure.
Additional tension is created by the discussion of the AGI threshold—achieving a level of human intelligence. Microsoft intends to retain access to OpenAI's technologies even in the event of such an achievement, while the AI company considers this basis for revising agreements.
As early as 2024, CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood claimed that Microsoft would acquire the AI giant within the next three years. In his opinion, a gradual decline in interest in artificial intelligence will force companies like OpenAI and Anthropic into the hands of large investors. According to the expert's forecast, Microsoft and Amazon will be the main contenders for these two firms.
