OpenAI pays Microsoft heavily for AI computing power, spending $3.8 billion on Azure services in 2024 and about $8.65 billion in the first three quarters of 2025. They’ve committed to purchasing $250 billion of Azure cloud services through 2032. Additionally, OpenAI shares 20% of its revenue with Microsoft, amounting to $493.8 million in 2024 and $865.8 million in early 2025. This financial relationship extends beyond typical vendor agreements.
While many tech enthusiasts know that Microsoft and OpenAI work together, the full extent of their financial relationship remains largely obscured from public view. The partnership goes far beyond a simple investment, with Microsoft holding approximately 27% ownership stake in OpenAI, valued at around $135 billion after recent recapitalization.
You might be surprised to learn that Microsoft has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI across multiple funding rounds since 2019. This investment has yielded impressive returns, with Microsoft’s stake now representing roughly a tenfold increase on its capital.
The financial ties run in both directions. OpenAI has committed to purchasing approximately $250 billion of Azure cloud services through 2032. This massive commitment guarantees Microsoft remains the central provider of cloud computing resources that power OpenAI’s AI systems.
When you use ChatGPT or access OpenAI’s API, you’re indirectly contributing to Microsoft’s revenue. OpenAI shares 20% of its revenue with Microsoft as part of their agreement. In 2024 alone, Microsoft received $493.8 million from these revenue-sharing payments.
The relationship grew even more lucrative in 2025, with payments to Microsoft increasing to about $865.8 million in just the first three quarters. This suggests OpenAI’s revenues reached at least $4.3 billion during that period.
You’re also paying Microsoft indirectly through OpenAI’s massive compute costs. OpenAI spent approximately $3.8 billion on Microsoft’s Azure inference compute services in 2024, with that figure rising to around $8.65 billion through the first three quarters of 2025. Their agreement specifies that these payments will continue until AGI verification by an independent expert panel.
The partnership isn’t entirely one-sided. Microsoft pays OpenAI 20% of revenue from its Azure OpenAI Service, where Microsoft sells OpenAI models to third parties. The costs are substantial, as inference processes require significant computational resources to generate outputs from these sophisticated AI models.
Despite recent restructuring that gives OpenAI more flexibility to work with other providers, Microsoft retains exclusive intellectual property rights for key AI models and Azure API exclusivity until Artificial General Intelligence is achieved. This guarantees Microsoft remains integral to OpenAI’s operations for the foreseeable future.
