Microsoft and OpenAI: Farewell friendly relations, welcome competitive rivalry

It’s no shocker. Back in March, I mentioned that the two organizations appeared more like adversaries than close allies. I highlighted how Altman and OpenAI Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap overtly attempted to attract businesses away from Microsoft’s Copilot towards OpenAI’s Enterprise ChatGPT. According to a report by Reuters, Altman and Lightcap engaged with over 300 corporate leaders in New York, San Francisco, and London, belittling Microsoft’s offerings by asserting that enterprises could collaborate directly with the creators of genAI technology instead of relying on Microsoft as an intermediary.

Nadella had previously targeted OpenAI, stating, “If OpenAI vanished suddenly…, we possess all the intellectual property rights and capabilities. We have the talent, the computing power, the data, we have it all. We are below them, above them, beside them.”

The situation has gone downhill since then. There are several motives for their conflict, but the primary driver is – you’ve speculated it – finances.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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