Inside the battle on the arrival of Microsoft to Openai technology

The future of the most important partnership in technology depends on Microsoft’s access to artificial intelligence that operates Chatgpt.

When openai The first penetration feature In May 2024, allowing users to speak to artificial intelligence like a person, it seemed as if the company did so in the lock step with its partner and investor, Microsoft. Shortly after Openai collected this audio capacity of the new GPT-4O, the CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella in A major letter in building the company The developer conference.

Behind the scenes, Microsoft had little knowledge of the feature until days before the illustration, the people participating in this matter told Business Insider.

While the agreement between the two companies gives Microsoft Access to Openai technology, what Openai must share – and when – is sometimes a gray area.

In this case, Microsoft managed to access frequent updates of the basic model at the time, but not Voice Openai technology that was built over it. The people said that Microsoft got to know the explanatory show, and pressed Openai executives, including Mira Mortati, then technology coach, to reach the code so that Microsoft can submit its own advertisement. They said that the company does not want to appear flat for investors, whose company must justify its $ 13 billion investments in Openai.

The example explains the continuous complexity of Microsoft’s relationship with Openai, and why access to AI Startup technology is a basic problem as companies renew their agreement.

Openai needs Microsoft to restructure companies. To get this, Openai may need to persuade Microsoft to change or abandon some beautiful terms: Microsoft has a lot of Openai technology, exclusive rights to sell them on Azure, the first right to refuse to provide computing resources, and the revenue sharing agreement worth billions of dollars.

Many thorny details about the points of disagreement in the negotiations made the headlines of the last newspapers – the existential condition that Openai can activate to cut Microsoft’s access, which is the “nuclear option” that was considered by Openai executive officials accuse Microsoft of anti -competition behaviorAnd A report that Microsoft was ready to stay away from re -negotiation.

In response to these reports, Microsoft and Openai issued a joint statement saying: “The talks are ongoing and we are optimistic that we will continue to build together for years to come.”

People close to Microsoft from BI negotiating talks tell that the program giant is unlikely to move away because it relies heavily on the intellectual property in Openai, and negotiations are an opportunity to improve and expand their access to this technology.

Everything about IP

Microsoft has benefited greatly from its arrangement to reach the intellectual property rights in Openai, by selling it to customers through the Azure Openai service and the creation of its products for the use of Openai technology, such as the AI ​​Copilot Assistant. However, there are limits on what companies consider “IP”.

For example, Microsoft enables access to important aspects of Openai models, such as models weights that help identify artificial intelligence outputs and inference symbols that direct models on how to use data. They said that some things are excluded from what IP companies consider, such as product interface information and user interface, and the point where Openai should participate in any technique of interpretation.

One person with Openai’s operations said that the company does not have to share what is being developed until it is completed, which can be personal.

The person said: “You can make sure to share something with Microsoft as long as possible, so they can still announce at one time, but it really makes it difficult to build the same product on it.”

In addition, accessing the IP is not the same as knowing how it is used. This was more difficult than expected, as many people told BI. People who are familiar with the two companies said that Openai has become frustrated by Microsoft’s request to clarify technology for its employees. Sometimes, Microsoft does not know what questions should be asked on Openai.

Microsoft formed a new organization of artificial intelligence two years ago and rented Mustafa Suleiman, former CEO of the deviation who collected the pioneer in Amnesty International, to operate it. The employment was intended as a hedge against Openai, after Nadella I received pressure from the Microsoft panel to diversification After instability in its partner, startup and CEO Sam Altman The overthrow. However, only a little came in terms of replacing Microsoft’s need for its partnership with Openai, as the people said.

Suleiman rebuilt the Microsoft Microsoft app. This effort did not achieve much growth for Copilot. One person said that his team focused on building smaller models and witnessed success with the models after training for new purposes. In general, Microsoft does not try to create border models like those that will compete with GPT, and instead put resources towards Openai, they said.

Microsoft is less worried about AGI, anti -monopoly, Windsurf or SoftBank

People who have knowledge of Microsoft’s position said.

The agreement includes a sentence that would allow Openai to announce the so -called artificial or “AGI” intelligence, and the Microsoft access to IP and Openai’s profits. Openai definition AGI As “a very independent system that surpasses humans in most of the businesses of economic value.”

Although Openai can announce AGI, the concept is very open to the interpretation so that Microsoft can prosecute and link the company easily in a legal battle for years. Another version of the item, “Agi”, which can announce Openai when it builds a technique capable of achieving a certain level of profits, but Microsoft must sign this.

Another obvious adherent point focused on the negotiations on Openai’s desire to get AI AFLE Assistant Assistant Windsurf. Under the current agreement, this would give Microsoft access to Windsurf. Microsoft said it will agree to the acquisition, but the CEO of Windsurf does not want to share the company’s technology with Microsoft.

While Github Copilot faces an increasing competition from other artificial intelligence assistants, access to Windsurf is not a great desire for Microsoft, and the company may consider the company

Openai executives It is said that he considers Microsoft’s accusation of anti -competition behavior. Two people said that Microsoft was not largely interested in this. The current deal has been investigated by anti -monopoly organizers, including the European Union, competition and markets in the United Kingdom.

Openai’s desire to restructure is partially driven by a final date from the Softbank investor, which risk a percentage of financing if Openai is not able to close this deal by the end of the year. Openai said it was struggling to collect donations because of its strange structure. Softbank has a good reputation in the risk of financing it, and its CEO burns on Openai, so some observers suspect that Softbank will continue on the deadline to cancel the financing if a new deal is not reached.

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