The latest disclosed information shows that OpenAI has become a major revenue source for Microsoft's artificial intelligence business. In the fiscal year ending in June this year, OpenAI contributed approximately $24.1 billion in revenue to Microsoft, accounting for about 70% of Microsoft's total AI revenue.

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella previously stated in early March that the company's AI business is expected to achieve a target of over $37 billion in annual revenue. According to their cooperation agreement, OpenAI needs to pay Microsoft for computing resource costs, model development-related expenses, and share part of the revenue.

Microsoft

OpenAI's significant contribution to Microsoft's AI business has also influenced Microsoft's recent strategic statements in the field of artificial intelligence. Known for its commercial software ecosystem and platform lock-in capabilities, Microsoft has recently started actively promoting open-source model development and emphasized avoiding a small number of closed-source AI models controlling the entire industry's value distribution.

Nadella had previously expressed his views on the controversy surrounding "model distillation" in the AI industry. Model distillation refers to using data or output results from large proprietary models to train smaller models with lower costs. Some AI companies believe this practice may weaken their technological advantages, while Microsoft has questioned related restrictions.

At the same time, Microsoft is gradually reducing its reliance on external models and integrating more of its self-developed artificial intelligence models into core products such as Office. According to reports, the company is pushing for adjustments in the Copilot ecosystem to reduce costs associated with OpenAI and other third-party models.

As generative AI commercialization enters a deeper stage, Microsoft and OpenAI are both partners and potential competitors. Balancing model supply, commercial revenue, and the development of autonomous AI capabilities will become an important issue in Microsoft's future artificial intelligence strategy.