Microsoft is adopting a strategy similar to one used by OpenAI. According to a report from Bloomberg, the tech giant plans to use its partner’s custom chip development work to strengthen its own semiconductor efforts, which have faced challenges. This pragmatic move comes as Microsoft’s performance in this area has lagged behind rivals like Google and Amazon.
The arrangement is clear. OpenAI is designing AI chips in collaboration with Broadcom, and Microsoft receives full access to all the resulting innovations. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explained in an interview that as OpenAI creates new system-level technologies, Microsoft gains access to everything. The plan is to adopt OpenAI’s designs and then build upon them for Microsoft’s own specific needs.
A revised partnership agreement between the companies grants Microsoft intellectual property rights to OpenAI’s chip designs. This agreement also ensures Microsoft maintains access to OpenAI’s AI models until the year 2032. The only exception to this access is OpenAI’s consumer hardware, which the maker of ChatGPT likely intends to develop and sell on its own.
This collaboration highlights a wider truth in the technology industry: developing advanced AI chips is an exceptionally difficult and costly endeavor. Instead of continuing to face these challenges alone, Microsoft is making a strategic bet. The company believes that leveraging OpenAI’s expertise, combined with a carefully structured contract, will help accelerate its own semiconductor ambitions.