The investment agreement between artificial intelligence firm OpenAI and tech giant Microsoft, known to be the largest financial supporter of OpenAI, is reportedly being reconsidered through ongoing discussions.
The announcement regarding the deal has been reported following OpenAI’s restructuring plans, under which a shift toward a public benefit corporation overseen by a non-profit organization has been proposed.
As reported by the Financial Times, a portion of Microsoft’s equity in OpenAI may be relinquished in exchange for sustained access to the AI firm’s products and models beyond 2030, when certain initial terms of the agreement signed between the companies are set to lapse.
Since 2019, when an initial stake in the artificial intelligence company was acquired, more than $13 billion has been invested into OpenAI by Microsoft.
Efforts have been made by OpenAI to reorganize the company with an emphasis on generating profit. However, opposition to these plans has been expressed by early investors and co-founders such as Elon Musk.
The agreement with Microsoft is considered vital to OpenAI’s organizational overhaul and the long-term direction of the U.S.-based AI startup. The progression of artificial intelligence has also been identified as a major policy priority by international leaders amid the intensifying global AI competition.
OpenAI Encounters Strong Resistance to For-Profit Transition
In 2015, OpenAI was established as a non-profit organization by businessman Elon Musk, technology entrepreneur Sam Altman, and artificial intelligence researcher Ilya Sutskever.
In 2024, a corporate restructuring aimed at transforming the organization from a non-profit entity into a for-profit corporation was being considered by the company.
The legality of the proposed transition was questioned in a legal filing submitted in November 2024, with strong criticism of the plan having been voiced by Elon Musk.
The company’s emphasis on closed-source software development was also criticized by the tech billionaire, who stated that such a direction had not been intended as OpenAI’s original goal.
It was explained by Musk during the New York Times DealBook Summit that OpenAI had originally been founded with the intention of operating as an open-source entity. He noted that the name “OpenAI” was inspired by the concept of open source, but criticized that the organization had now become closed source and suggested it should be renamed “super closed source AI for maximum profit AI.”
A takeover bid worth $97.4 billion was submitted in February 2025 by a consortium of investors led by Elon Musk to acquire OpenAI. However, the proposal was promptly declined by OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman.
On May 5, it was announced by OpenAI that the transition to a purely for-profit model would be abandoned, with a shift instead being made toward a public benefit corporation — a profit-oriented structure legally required to pursue social or public interest goals — to be governed by a non-profit organization.
