Microsoft Takes 27% Stake in OpenAI After Corporate Restructure

OpenAI has completed a major recapitalisation, reorganising its for-profit operations into a public benefit corporation (PBC) while maintaining oversight through its nonprofit foundation. Under this new structure, Microsoft will hold a 27% ownership stake, estimated at around $135 billion—in the restructured entity, with the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation retaining controlling equity worth approximately $130 billion.

Bret Taylor, Chairman of OpenAI, shared, “OpenAI has completed its recapitalisation, simplifying its corporate structure. The nonprofit remains in control of the for-profit and now has a direct path to major resources before AGI arrives.”

Microsoft’s Expanded Commercial Partnership

The new agreement strengthens the long-standing collaboration between Microsoft and OpenAI. As part of the deal, Microsoft will retain access to OpenAI’s models through 2032, extending the existing partnership by two years. In return, OpenAI has committed to expanded Azure cloud consumption and a revenue-sharing arrangement, with Microsoft reportedly set to receive 20% of OpenAI’s revenue.

However, the agreement excludes access to OpenAI’s hardware products and removes Microsoft’s right of first refusal to act as its exclusive compute provider—signalling OpenAI’s move toward greater infrastructure independence.

Governance and Regulation

The reorganisation preserves OpenAI’s governance framework, ensuring that its nonprofit foundation retains primacy over safety and public benefit decisions. CEO Sam Altman reportedly does not hold a personal equity stake in the new structure, reinforcing the company’s mission-driven stance.

The restructuring underwent regulatory review, including by the Delaware Attorney General, who approved the arrangement after OpenAI committed to maintaining governance aligned with safety, transparency, and public welfare principles.

Delaware AG Kathy Jennings noted: “I am pleased that OpenAI committed to a governance structure going forward that requires primacy for safety and security and to utilise this technology and this corporation’s resources to benefit the public.”

Strategic Implications for Microsoft and OpenAI

For Microsoft, this deal cements long-term economic and strategic exposure to OpenAI’s growth. It strengthens Azure’s enterprise AI offerings, locks in high-value cloud consumption, and deepens integration across Microsoft’s ecosystem.

For OpenAI, the restructure enables access to fresh capital and scalability while preserving nonprofit oversight to guide the company’s mission toward safe and beneficial AGI (Artificial General Intelligence).

This hybrid model, combining nonprofit stewardship with for-profit execution, is designed to maintain accountability while supporting accelerated product innovation and commercialisation.

The partnership positions OpenAI and Microsoft at the centre of the global AI ecosystem. Enterprises can expect continued innovation in AI-native tools, enterprise integrations, and Azure-powered deployments—but it also intensifies questions around vendor dependency and governance concentration.

Industry experts note that this deeper tie may accelerate joint product roadmaps across Copilot, Azure AI, and ChatGPT Enterprise but also tighten competitive pressure on Google, Anthropic, and Amazon in the enterprise AI market.