OpenAI is reportedly in “a tough negotiation” with Microsoft, one of its biggest investors and partners, according to the Financial Times.
The AI startup recently announced a major change to its corporate restructuring plans, aiming to convert its business arm into a for-profit public benefit corporation while its nonprofit board remains in control.
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The FT, citing multiple sources, reports that Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in OpenAI to date, is a key holdout needed to approve the restructuring.
The negotiation reportedly centers on how much equity Microsoft will receive in the new for-profit entity. The companies are also allegedly renegotiating their broader contract, with Microsoft offering to give up some of its equity for access to OpenAI technology developed after the current 2030 cutoff.
Sources also told the FT that these negotiations are complicated by the increasingly competitive relationship between the two companies, as OpenAI’s enterprise business has grown and as it pursues its ambitious Stargate infrastructure project.
SOURCE: TECH CRUNCH
