Microsoft and OpenAI have entered an exclusive computing partnership announced today in a press release. Furthermore, the Redmond-based company has made a sizable investment of $1 billion in the AI research company. Through this joint venture, Microsoft aims to improve and develop Azure’s capabilities in large-scale AI systems.
OpenAI on the other hand also intends to make the most of this partnership by further expanding the field of AI to create artificial general intelligence (AGI). This will benefit both parties, as the resulting improvements to Microsoft Azure will help developers build the next generation of AI applications.
There are three main terms which define the partnership between the two tech companies:
- Microsoft and OpenAI will jointly build new Azure AI supercomputing technologies
- OpenAI will port its services to run on Microsoft Azure, which it will use to create new AI technologies and deliver on the promise of artificial general intelligence
- Microsoft will become OpenAI’s preferred partner for commercializing new AI technologies
Speaking on the new alliance, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, commented:
“The creation of AGI will be the most important technological development in human history, with the potential to shape the trajectory of humanity. Our mission is to ensure that AGI technology benefits all of humanity, and we’re working with Microsoft to build the supercomputing foundation on which we’ll build AGI. We believe it’s crucial that AGI is deployed safely and securely and that its economic benefits are widely distributed. We are excited about how deeply Microsoft shares this vision.”
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, expressed similar emotions when speaking about the joint venture, stating that the combination of "OpenAI’s breakthrough technology with new Azure AI supercomputing technologies" will benefit everyone.