Microsoft is OpenAI’s largest investor with a $13 billion investment in the ChatGPT maker’s technology, arguably the best bromance in tech. However, the multi-billion dollar partnership might be rocky grounds.
Earlier this year, Microsoft briefly became the world’s most valuable company ahead of Apple and NVIDIA because of its early investment and adoption of AI across its tech stack. Microsoft has invested billions in OpenAI to facilitate its advanced and sophisticated advances. In return, the Redmond giant gets early access to next-gen AI models.
Most of Microsoft’s products and services are powered by OpenAI’s cutting-edge tech. However, a new report by Reuters suggests the company might have plans to integrate new models into its Microsoft 365 Copilot service. Perhaps more interestingly, Microsoft’s new AI models won’t be backed by OpenAI.
The report further details that Microsoft could be moving away from OpenAI’s AI products like its GPT-4 model because it’s too expensive and isn’t fast enough to meet its enterprise customer’s requirements. The report details how Microsoft is aggressively looking at ways to reduce costs for enterprise features, such as Github Copilot, with a goal of “passing on savings to customers.”
This news comes after an earlier report indicated that Microsoft and OpenAI’s partnership might be fraying, citing disagreements over their exclusive deal and the exorbitant sums of money on computing power that barely meets the requirements for OpenAI’s AI advances.
Interestingly, OpenAI staffers say Microsoft’s inability to meet the firm’s computing power demand could potentially cost it the coveted AGI benchmark as rival AI labs rapidly progress in the landscape.
Microsoft’s issues with Copilot 365
As you may know, Copilot 365 is deeply integrated into Microsoft’s productivity tools, including PowerPoint and Word. It runs through the company’s data and is designed to help users find information quickly. It also summarizes meetings and emails to enhance productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency.
A recent report highlighted Microsoft’s struggles with Copilot and its advanced AI models despite early access to OpenAI’s tech. A high-ranking executive at Microsoft described most Copilot AI tools as “gimmicky,” further disclosing that the firm heavily relies on third-party vendors to make Copilot work across its tech stack, including Microsoft 365. Some clients disclosed that the AI-powered tool doesn’t work well “75% of the time,” prompting some users to indicate that $30 per user per month is a bit extravagant.
OpenAI is reportedly attempting to scrap a stringent clause that will sever its partnership with Microsoft once it hits the coveted AGI benchmark. And as it seems, the ChatGPT maker’s CEO Sam Altman indicated that AGI might be achieved sooner than anticipated and will whoosh by with surprisingly little societal impact. A technical employee at OpenAI claims the AI firm might have already achieved AGI after releasing OpenAI o1 to general availability.
Microsoft could be looking to place a safer bet on its AI advances. It might be a great idea for the tech giant to split its risks, especially after OpenAI’s recent bankruptcy reports speculated to hit up to $5 billion in losses within 12 months. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella indicated that severing its ties with OpenAI is the only natural cause of action after AGI is achieved.
