The Cooling Partnership Between Microsoft and OpenAI
The relationship between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has significantly cooled, with their frequent text exchanges now reduced to scheduled weekly calls. Once described as the “best partnership in tech,” their collaboration is showing signs of strain as each leader prepares for an independent future.
The tension arises from multiple fundamental points of conflict. Microsoft and OpenAI are increasingly at odds over computing resources, model access, and differing views on whether OpenAI’s systems will soon achieve humanlike intelligence. The relationship dynamic began changing after Altman’s brief ouster in late 2023, which prompted Nadella to seek an “insurance policy” against future disruptions. This led to Microsoft’s controversial $650 million acquisition of Mustafa Suleyman’s team from Inflection to build competing AI models.
Adding to the friction, OpenAI was reportedly slow to share code for its powerful reasoning model last summer, while Microsoft has pushed back against OpenAI’s claims about approaching humanlike AI capabilities. The cooling relationship manifested publicly when Altman announced the Stargate project in January alongside Oracle and SoftBank—a data center initiative resembling what he had previously hoped to accomplish with Microsoft. Nadella was notably absent, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos at the time.
Despite the growing distance, both companies remain deeply intertwined. Microsoft can effectively block OpenAI’s restructuring into a for-profit company, while OpenAI retains contractual power to restrict Microsoft’s access to its most advanced technology.
