Microsoft Considers Suing to Halt Amazon-OpenAI Cloud Deal | PYMNTS.com

As the Financial Times (FT) reported Wednesday (March 18), the issue hinges on whether Amazon Web Services (AWS) can offer OpenAI’s new Frontier commercial product without breaking an agreement requiring all access to OpenAI’s models to be run through Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

That agreement, the report added, is a lucrative one for Microsoft, which has seen Azure revenues reach record highs thanks in part to OpenAI’s products. PYMNTS has contacted Microsoft for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

OpenAI and Amazon say they are working on a system that works around the contract, while Microsoft executives argue this approach would not work and would violate the company’s agreement with OpenAI, sources familiar with the discussions told the FT.

Prior to Frontier’s debut last month, the companies were still holding talks to end the disagreement without resorting to legal action, the sources added.