CEO Satya Nadella has repeatedly said he sees AI as the next major computing platform. The reported $13 billion investment in OpenAI is a sign of the company’s conviction in AI and its belief that it needs to lead that transition or risk being left behind, as it was with mobile.
More recently, Microsoft has begun diversifying from OpenAI. It has been adding both internal and third-party models to products like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure, including DeepSeek‘s R1. OpenAI’s recent restructuring formalized both companies’ ability to form other partnerships, giving Microsoft more freedom to partner with other AI companies.
The long-term implications of the restructuring for its relationship with OpenAI are unclear, but Microsoft seems to think it’s wise to hedge its bets in the AI race. The relationship continues to evolve, but Microsoft views the start-up’s technology as crucial to its AI strategy.
Microsoft is harnessing the power of AI in other ways, too, including the use of automated clinical documentation in healthcare to reduce paperwork and administrative needs. It’s also using Azure to allow customers to build custom AI tools.
Finally, it launched Azure AI Foundry in November 2024, enabling its customers to create and manage AI apps and agents. By early 2025, developers at more than 70,000 companies were using it.