According to OpenAI's latest restructuring agreement, Microsoft Microsoft will hold approximately 27% of OpenAI's for-profit division (valued at $130 billion). Boosted by news of continued close collaboration with OpenAI, Microsoft's stock rose 1.98% in after-hours trading.
Looking back today, Microsoft's investment in OpenAI has clearly been a very successful one. After investing a total of $13 billion, Microsoft has achieved a nearly ninefold return on its investment in OpenAI. This doesn't even take into account the positive impact of OpenAI's GPT model on Microsoft's business, or the benefits to Microsoft Cloud. Business participation in artificial intelligence The benefits gained after construction.
However, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who was involved in the decision to invest in OpenAI, Microsoft's early investment in OpenAI was seen by the company's founder, Bill Gates, as a risky decision, like burning through $1 billion.
Nadella stated on a program on Tuesday that Gates hesitated when investing in OpenAI in 2019, when OpenAI was a non-profit organization. However, he believed Microsoft had a certain risk tolerance, so Microsoft ultimately decided to invest in OpenAI.
He pointed out that although artificial intelligence is very risky, it's not that difficult for people to recognize it as an important field. But at the time, he never imagined that his initial investment would bring a hundredfold return.
The significance of the new cooperation
Five years have passed since Microsoft first invested in OpenAI in 2019 until the two companies signed a new cooperation agreement. Under the new agreement, Microsoft will continue to use OpenAI's advanced AI technology until 2032 and will provide OpenAI with $250 billion worth of cloud computing resources. Serve.
JPMorgan Chase Analyst Mark R. Murphy points out that Microsoft's continued provision of cloud services is a welcome surprise and should be seen as a significant reshaping of the market landscape. Previously, OpenAI announced a partnership with Oracle... The $300 billion computing power partnership once sparked concerns in the market about a decline in Microsoft's position.
But Morgan Stanley Analyst Keith Weiss emphasized that the new agreement continues the existing cooperation framework between the two companies, but the most critical change lies in "independence," which foreshadows a new model of cooperation versus competition among tech giants in the race for general artificial intelligence, moving from alliances to a new paradigm.
Weiss's analysis points out that Microsoft enjoys the intellectual property rights of OpenAI. In practice, it is divided into two categories: the intellectual property rights for large models and products are extended to 2032, covering updates after OpenAI's general artificial intelligence, but with security measures attached; while the intellectual property rights for research continue until the expert panel's certification of general artificial intelligence or until 2030, whichever comes first.
He particularly values the timeline for the realization of general artificial intelligence, believing it to be a key variable affecting the relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI, as it could indicate when Microsoft's "OpenAI revenue cliff" will occur.
While the new agreement may add some uncertainty to the relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI, both firms maintained their overweight rating on Microsoft. JPMorgan stated that a clear organizational structure is a positive factor for both Microsoft and OpenAI.
(Article source: CLS)
