"Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) 'loosens its grip': Allows OpenAI to use other cloud services"

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) has changed its longstanding agreement with OpenAI, now allowing the artificial intelligence startup to use cloud computing services from competitors. In a statement on Tuesday, Microsoft Corporation said that the agreement will continue until 2030, and when OpenAI seeks computing power to train and run AI models, Microsoft Corporation will have priority. Previously, Microsoft Corporation was the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI, but last year Microsoft Corporation granted a one-time waiver, allowing the startup to purchase some capacity from Oracle Corporation (ORCL.US). Microsoft Corporation also stated that OpenAI can now build some of its own cloud computing capacity, mainly for research and model training. This change comes as OpenAI, SoftBank Group, and Oracle Corporation announced the establishment of a joint venture worth $50 billion to build cloud computing data centers in the United States. President Donald Trump announced the plan named "Stargate" on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation stated that it will provide technology for the joint venture, but will not invest any money. Microsoft Corporation also stated that OpenAI recently made a "new significant" commitment to continue using Microsoft Corporation's Azure cloud services to support its AI products. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report last Friday expressing concerns over Microsoft Corporation's investment of up to $13 billion in OpenAI, which could extend the tech giant's dominance in the cloud computing field to the emerging AI market. The FTC criticized the practice of cloud service giants investing in AI companies to benefit their own businesses. Many investments exist in the form of credits for cloud computing services, requiring AI startups to consume on these platforms, thus increasing the cost for AI startups to switch to collaboration platforms.