Since 2019, Microsoft and OpenAI have shared a vision to advance artificial intelligence responsibly and make its benefits broadly accessible. What began as an investment in a research organization has grown into one of the most successful partnerships in our industry.

The new agreement maintains Microsoft as OpenAI’s frontier model partner and preserves Microsoft’s exclusive rights to OpenAI’s IP and Azure API exclusivity until the threshold of AGI is reached. Under a previous arrangement,

The shift establishes a nonprofit foundation overseeing a for-profit corporation, allowing the world’s most valuable startup to woo investors and secure funds.

In the new agreement, Microsoft gets a 27% stake in OpenAI's for-profit business, the OpenAI Group PBC, worth around $135 billion.

To achieve this restructuring, Altman needed to renegotiate the terms of OpenAI’s agreement with Microsoft, its largest investor. In a joint statement, the companies said that Microsoft now owns roughly 27 percent of OpenAI Group, valued at roughly $135 billion, slightly more than the OpenAI Foundation.

According to a Reuters report published on Wednesday, OpenAI is laying the foundation for what could be one of the largest-ever IPOs and is thinking about filing as early as the second half of 2026. In discussions, the company has considered raising $60 billion at the low end, and possibly more, which would value the company at up to $1 trillion.

Days after announcing its conversion into a for-profit corporation, OpenAI is reportedly preparing for a mammoth initial public offering.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI (PC:OPAIQ) is planning to go public in late 2026 or early 2027, targeting a massive valuation of $1 trillion to finance its