Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, right, greets OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during the OpenAI DevDay event in San Francisco on November 6, 2023.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
MicrosoftThe relationship between OpenAI and Apple has officially become more complicated.
Microsoft on Tuesday added the artificial intelligence startup to its list of competitors in the company’s latest annual report, a list that has for years included giants Amazon, apple, Google And dead.
Microsoft has a long-standing partnership with OpenAI, serving as the exclusive cloud services provider and using its AI models in products for commercial and consumer customers. Microsoft is OpenAI’s largest investor, having invested $13 billion in the company.
But the new lineup suggests they're moving into each other's business.
In the filing, Microsoft identified OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot, as a competitor in AI offerings, search, and news advertising. Last week, OpenAI announced a prototype search engine called SearchGPT.
Some companies choose to pay OpenAI for access to its models. Others turn to Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service. And for those looking for an alternative to ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot is also available through Bing and on Windows.
An OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC that nothing has changed in the relationship between the two companies and that their partnership was founded on an understanding of competition. The spokesperson said Microsoft remains a good partner to OpenAI.
It's been a year full of drama.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was reportedly not informed of the matter before OpenAI’s board of directors fired CEO Sam Altman in November. After Altman was quickly reinstated, OpenAI gave Microsoft a non-voting board seat. Microsoft relinquished that position earlier this month.
In March, Nadella brought on Mustafa Suleyman, a co-founder of DeepMind, the AI research firm that preceded OpenAI and was acquired by Google in 2014. Suleyman, who co-founded and led the startup Inflection AI, was named CEO of a new unit called Microsoft AI, and was joined by several Inflection employees.
Nadella remains close to Altman.
“One of the things I love about Sam is that he calls me every day and says, ‘I need more, I need more, I need more,’” Nadella said in a recent interview with The New York Times.
Watch: OpenAI announces a search engine called SearchGPT
