Microsoft’s absence from OpenAI’s Stargate announcement follows months of tension between the companies and signals a new era in which the longtime partners will be less reliant on each other. At a White House press conference,

The new agreement “includes changes to the exclusivity on new capacity, moving to a model where Microsoft has a right of first refusal (ROFR),” Microsoft says. “To further support OpenAI, Microsoft has approved OpenAI’s ability to build additional capacity, primarily for research and training of models.”

Microsoft will no longer be the exclusive provider of new cloud computing capacity to OpenAI — a new twist in their relationship that clears the way for OpenAI to work with Oracle and others on the $500 billion Stargate AI project announced by the companies Tuesday with President Trump at the White House.

Microsoft is OpenAI's largest investor, with a 49% stake, translating to $14 billion. As part of its complicated partnership with the ChatGPT maker, Microsoft was once the exclusive cloud computing partner for OpenAI. However, OpenAI's $500 billion investment in computing infrastructure changes its relationship with Microsoft.

We are thrilled to continue our strategic partnership with OpenAI and to partner on Stargate. Today’s announcement is complementary to what our two companies have been working on together since 2019.

Microsoft has confirmed that it is no longer the exclusive cloud provider for ChatGPT maker OpenAI despite plans to continue being the AI startup’s leading data center infrastructure provider. The company confirmed in a statement there would be “changes to the exclusivity on new capacity,” but that it would have the right of first refusal.

Microsoft has revised its agreement with OpenAI, allowing the AI company to partner with other cloud service providers (CSPs). However, Microsoft retains the Right of First Refusal (ROFR), giving it a priority to match any competing offers before OpenAI commits to other providers.