Microsoft and OpenAI just issued a strategic clarification that could reshape how the AI industry interprets their seven-year partnership. Hours after OpenAI announced new funding and an Amazon collaboration, the two companies published a joint statement emphasizing that nothing has changed in their exclusive relationship - including Microsoft's sole rights to stateless API hosting, unchanged revenue sharing, and continued IP licensing. The timing signals both companies are working to calm enterprise customers and investors amid swirling questions about OpenAI's growing web of cloud partnerships.
Microsoft and OpenAI aren't letting anyone misread the room. The two companies dropped a joint statement today that reads like a carefully worded insurance policy - one designed to reassure enterprise customers, investors, and cloud partners that their foundational relationship hasn't shifted an inch, even as OpenAI announces fresh funding rounds and an Amazon partnership.
The statement, published on the Microsoft Official Blog, opens with a reminder that what started in 2019 as a research collaboration has become "one of the most consequential collaborations in technology." But the real news comes in the specifics. According to the companies, "nothing about today's announcements in any way changes the terms" outlined in their October 2025 partnership update.
Here's what that actually means. Azure remains the exclusive cloud provider for stateless APIs that deliver access to OpenAI's models and intellectual property. Translation? Even if OpenAI partners with Amazon or any other cloud provider, every stateless API call to OpenAI models gets routed through Azure infrastructure. "Any stateless API calls to OpenAI models that result from a collaboration between OpenAI and any third party - including Amazon - would be hosted on Azure," the statement confirms.
