The boss of OpenAI has admitted holding talks with the firm’s largest financial backer, Microsoft, amid reports of tensions between the two.
Reuters reported on CEO Sam Altman speaking on a New York Times podcast on Tuesday, during which he confirmed a call with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday, where they discussed their future working partnership.
Microsoft of course is the principle backer of OpenAI from its startup days, and has sunk billions of dollars into the San Francisco-based AI pioneer over the years. OpenAI also widely utilises Microsoft’s Azure cloud services.
Future Partnership
In return Microsoft uses OpenAI technology for most of its AI offerings.
Reuters however noted a Wall Street Journal article earlier this month, which reported that Microsoft and OpenAI are discussing revising the terms of Microsoft’s investment, including the future equity stake it will hold in the startup.
Meanwhile the Financial Times has apparently reported that Microsoft is considering pausing discussions with OpenAI if the two sides remain unable to agree on critical issues such as the size of Microsoft’s future stake.
Microsoft and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment outside regular business hours.
“Obviously in any deep partnership, there are points of tension and we certainly have those,” Altman reportedly told the NYT. “But on the whole, it’s been like really wonderfully good for both companies.”
During the podcast, Altman also reportedly said that he had productive talks with US President Donald Trump on AI and credited him with understanding the geopolitical and economic importance of the technology.
Microsoft Tensions?
Signs of tensions between OpenAI and Microsoft have become increasingly noticeable in the past six months.
In January 2025 it was reported that OpenAI executives had discussed levelling antitrust accusations against Microsoft as a last-ditch option for loosening the firm’s control under their six-year investment deal.
Then in May it was reported that Microsoft was getting ready to host Elon Musk’s Grok AI model – a bitter rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Also in May it was reported that OpenAI and Microsoft were negotiating changes to their partnership, worth more than $13 billion (£9.8bn), to allow the AI start-up to launch a future initial public offering (IPO) while protecting Microsoft’s access to OpenAI’s future technology
Around the same time it was also reported that Microsoft had been holding back OpenAI’s plans to shift to a for-profit corporate structure over questions around how much equity it will receive in exchange for its multibillion investment.
But OpenAI in May said that going forward it would continue to be overseen and controlled by non-profit operation.
It has also been reported that both companies are also revising terms of a wider contract agreed when Microsoft first invested $1bn into OpenAI in 2019.
That contract, which extends to 2030, covers what access Microsoft has to OpenAI’s intellectual property, including models and products, as well as a revenue share from product sales.
Microsoft was reportedly offering to give up some of its equity stake in OpenAI’s new for-profit business in exchange for accessing new technology developed past 2030.
OpenAI has also reportedly told investors it would share a smaller proportion of revenue with Microsoft.