The current status of the actual relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI Renegotiate the agreement in April 2026: Microsoft has obtained royalty free access to OpenAI's most advanced models and IP until 2032, without paying any additional fees. Nadella publicly stated that 'we fully plan to exploit it' and emphasized that it is a win-win situation. But Microsoft no longer has exclusive rights, OpenAI can collaborate with other cloud platforms such as AWS. Microsoft is also vigorously developing its own MAI model (Microsoft AI). At the Build conference in early June 2026, it was announced to launch seven proprietary models (MAI-Thinking-1 inference model, MAI Code model, image, speech, transcription, etc.) with the aim of reducing reliance on OpenAI and providing cheaper and more efficient options for enterprises. How much did Microsoft invest? The total investment is about 13 billion US dollars (approximately 13 billion US dollars). The first investment of 1 billion US dollars was made in 2019. In 2023, a multi-stage additional investment was promised, ultimately reaching a total funding commitment of 13 billion US dollars. Currently, Microsoft holds approximately 27% of OpenAI's equity, and the book value of this equity has inflated to around $135 billion (due to OpenAI's skyrocketing valuation). More importantly, Microsoft has recovered far more returns from this investment than what was invested: Azure AI business has grown significantly due to OpenAI, contributing billions of dollars in revenue in a single quarter. The overall AI related new business receipts are estimated to have reached tens of billions of dollars in scale. Simply put, this investment currently appears to be extremely cost-effective for Microsoft. Will I really help Sam Altman return to the company in 2023? Yes, and the role is very important. When OpenAI's board of directors suddenly dismissed Sam Altman in November 2023: Nadella immediately announced publicly that Microsoft would bring Altman and his team to Microsoft to establish a new AI laboratory. This statement generated immense pressure (OpenAI employees threatened to resign in large numbers), and within a few days Altman was reinstated. Nadella was later confirmed to have coordinated and exerted pressure behind the scenes to help stabilize the situation and facilitate Altman's smooth return. At that time, Microsoft's main purpose in doing so was to protect its $13 billion investment and avoid OpenAI's internal manipulation leading to a collapse of cooperation. Why does it feel like 'betrayal' now? Microsoft has been wary from the beginning. Nadella has long been concerned about outsourcing too many core IPs to others OpenAI」， I don't want to become an 'IBM' that relies solely on others. Helping Altman in 2023 is for stable cooperation; Developing their own MAI model, renegotiating agreements (obtaining royalty free usage rights until 2032), and emphasizing the need for companies to build their own "learning loops" are all aimed at reducing the risk of single dependence. OpenAI itself is also restructuring, wanting to be more independent, and looking for other partners, both of whom are actually adjusting their relationship. Satya Nadella outlines his overall vision for the future of enterprise AI: He believes that this AI transformation is different from before because AI can absorb human knowledge and form a 'cognitive loop'. Enterprises cannot rely solely on external "generic models" (such as OpenAI's GPT), but must simultaneously establish human capital (human judgment, creativity, relationships) and token capital (the enterprise's own AI systems and knowledge). The key is to establish a "learning loop" to transform the company's own workflow and domain knowledge into AI systems that can continuously evolve, in order to preserve IP sovereignty and prevent value from being sucked away by a few model vendors. He warned that if everyone feeds knowledge to a few big models, it will lead to industrial hollowing out (similar to the problem of global outsourcing in the past). This is actually endorsing Microsoft's own strategy: not just as a reseller of models, but as a builder of platforms and ecosystems.