Microsoft and OpenAI gut their exclusive deal, freeing OpenAI to sell on AWS and Google Cloud - VentureBeat

Well, that didn't last long, did it? Microsoft and OpenAI have just ‘restructured’ their supposedly unbreakable alliance, gutting the exclusivity clause that forced OpenAI to give Azure first dibs on everything. Now OpenAI is free to peddle its wares on AWS and Google Cloud, which feels a bit like divorcing your spouse but agreeing to keep co-parenting the golden goose. The $13bn investment hasn't vanished – Microsoft still gets half of OpenAI's profits until that sum is repaid – but the 'strategic partnership' now has all the permanence of a cheap umbrella in a storm.

The twists keep coming. Amy Hood, Microsoft's CFO, told investors this 'evolution reflects both organizations' requirements for flexibility' – corporate for 'we couldn't agree on who owns the future.' Sam Altman gets to roam the cloud pasture selling models to anyone with a credit card, while Satya Nadella can cosy up to other model builders without looking like a jilted lover. The new structured-access frameworks and capacity reservations sound very grown-up and stable, which means we should probably mark the calendar for the next 'evolution' in about twelve months.

Meanwhile, Salesforce – the official corporate voice of confused jealousy – immediately chortled that they'll run AWS and Google queries faster than OpenAI's models, which is like boasting about your bicycle being cheaper than a Tesla. The real prize here is that the floodgates are open: competing clouds accelerate competing intelligence, which in a race to recursive improvement feels very much like firing a starting pistol at a track meet where the track is on fire. Do keep up. Last time we watched this show unfold, the ending was remarkably lacking in responsible foresight.