OpenAI to Reduce Microsoft's Revenue Share by Half by 2030

OpenAI is reportedly planning to significantly cut Microsoft's share of its revenue, bringing it down from 20% to around 10% by 2030, according to a recent report by The Information. This change reflects a broader strategic adjustment within the company, including a scaling back of its internal restructuring efforts.

Governance Model Change Limits Sam Altman's Power

The shift also involves a reversal of plans that would have expanded CEO Sam Altman’s control over OpenAI. Instead, governance authority will now remain with OpenAI's nonprofit parent organization, a move aimed at keeping executive influence in check.

Microsoft's $13.75 Billion Investment in OpenAI Remains Crucial

Long-Term Commitment Despite Reduced Revenue Share

Microsoft has invested $13.75 billion in OpenAI, including a massive $10 billion deal in early 2023. The current agreement, which extends through 2030, stipulates a 20% revenue share for Microsoft. However, OpenAI is now expected to reduce that share to 10% for Microsoft and other commercial partners by 2030, according to internal documents and investor briefings.

Despite this realignment, both companies remain committed to their ongoing collaboration. Microsoft emphasized:

"The key elements of our partnership remain in place for the duration of our contract through 2030, with our access to OpenAI’s IP, our revenue sharing arrangements and our exclusivity on OpenAI’s APIs all continuing forward."

OpenAI–Microsoft Deal Adjusted Amid Rising AI Infrastructure Race

Microsoft Eyes Future of AI with Expanded Infrastructure

In January 2025, Microsoft updated parts of its agreement with OpenAI. This coincided with the announcement of a $500 billion AI data centre project, in collaboration with Oracle and Japan’s SoftBank Group. The tech giant is aiming to secure continued access to OpenAI’s advanced AI technologies beyond the 2030 agreement.

An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the collaboration’s continuity and future plans:

"We continue to work closely with Microsoft, and look forward to finalising the details of this recapitalisation in the near future."

Key Takeaways

OpenAI to cut Microsoft’s revenue share from 20% to 10% by 2030

Plans to enhance CEO control scrapped; nonprofit retains governance

Microsoft maintains exclusive access to OpenAI APIs until 2030

A $500 billion AI data centre initiative further solidifies Microsoft’s AI ambitions

About OpenAI:

OpenAI is an American artificial intelligence (AI) research and deployment company. Its stated mission is "to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI)—by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work—benefits all of humanity." 1  

Founded in December 2015 as a non-profit organization, OpenAI was established by a consortium of researchers, scientists, and entrepreneurs, including notable figures like Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, and Elon Musk. The initial goal was to advance AI development in a safe and beneficial manner, unconstrained by the need to generate financial returns. Early investors committed $1 billion to fund its research and operations.

In 2019, OpenAI transitioned to a unique hybrid structure, forming a for-profit subsidiary (OpenAI Global LLC) controlled by the non-profit OpenAI Inc. This allowed the company to raise more capital while still adhering to its mission.

Key People:

• Sam Altman: CEO of OpenAI since 2019 (with a brief removal and reinstatement in November 2023). He is a prominent figure in the AI field.

• Greg Brockman: Co-founder.

• Ilya Sutskever: Co-founder and Chief Scientist (though he resigned in May 2024).

Products and Advancements:

OpenAI has been at the forefront of significant AI advancements, with notable products including:

• GPT Series (Generative Pre-trained Transformer): A series of powerful language models known for their natural language processing and generation capabilities. This includes models like GPT-3, GPT-4, and the recently introduced GPT-4o (announced in April 2025).

• ChatGPT: A highly popular conversational AI chatbot based on the GPT models. It has garnered widespread attention for its ability to generate human-like text and engage in conversations.

• DALL-E and Sora: AI models capable of generating images from text prompts (DALL-E) and creating realistic and imaginative video from text instructions (Sora, released in early 2024).

• OpenAI API: A platform providing access to OpenAI's models for developers to build their own AI-powered applications.

• OpenAI Gym: A toolkit for developing and comparing reinforcement learning algorithms.

OpenAI Funding and Valuation:

OpenAI has secured substantial funding rounds over the years. Recent significant developments include:

• In March 2025, OpenAI announced a new funding round of $40 billion at a post-money valuation of $300 billion, with the SoftBank Group leading the investment. This marked the largest private tech funding deal on record.

• Previously, in October 2024, OpenAI's valuation was reported to be around $157 billion.

• The funding aims to support OpenAI's research towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), scale its compute infrastructure, and deliver more powerful AI tools.

Controversies:

OpenAI has faced several controversies, including:

• Shift to For-Profit Model: The transition from a purely non-profit to a capped-profit structure in 2019 sparked debate about the company's commitment to its original mission of benefiting humanity over profit. Elon Musk, a co-founder who left in 2018, has been a vocal critic and even filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract due to this shift. However, some of Musk's claims were dismissed in court in April 2025.

• Content Moderation and Safety: Concerns have been raised about the potential misuse of OpenAI's powerful AI models, including the spread of misinformation and the development of harmful applications. The company has been working on safety measures and content moderation policies.

• Leadership Changes: The abrupt ousting and subsequent reinstatement of CEO Sam Altman in November 2023 highlighted internal tensions and concerns within the organization, reportedly related to AI safety and communication issues.

• Copyright Issues: In April 2025, O'Reilly Media accused OpenAI of training its AI models on their paywalled content without authorization, raising concerns about copyright infringement in AI training data.

Recent Developments:

• In a significant development announced in May 2025, OpenAI reversed course on plans to fully convert into a for-profit business. The non-profit arm will retain control over the company, which will now operate as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). This structure legally obligates OpenAI to consider the interests of both shareholders and its mission to benefit humanity. This decision came after discussions with the Attorneys General of California and Delaware and feedback from civic leaders.

• OpenAI continues to release increasingly advanced AI models, with recent announcements including updates to the GPT series and new image and audio generation capabilities.

• The company is actively forming partnerships across various sectors, including education (NextGenAI consortium), news (News Corp), and technology (SoftBank).

• Despite its groundbreaking achievements, OpenAI navigates a complex landscape of ethical considerations, competitive pressures, and the immense potential and risks associated with increasingly powerful artificial intelligence.

Conclusion 

OpenAI’s decision to reduce Microsoft’s revenue share from 20% to 10% by 2030 signals a pivotal shift in its long-term strategy. This move, coupled with a rollback of plans to expand CEO Sam Altman’s influence, suggests the company is recalibrating its power dynamics and financial priorities. While it may reduce short-term earnings for Microsoft, the tech giant remains a key player in OpenAI’s ecosystem, continuing to host its APIs and leverage its models across services like Copilot.

The continued partnership also aligns with Microsoft’s broader AI ambitions, as seen in its massive investment in next-gen infrastructure. At the same time, OpenAI is doubling down on autonomy and long-term sustainability, reflecting growing investor confidence and a maturing operational vision.

With AI rapidly transforming the tech industry, these changes position both companies to navigate a complex future—one where control, innovation, and profit-sharing will play critical roles in shaping AI’s global impact.