Microsoft hints at a big change to its OpenAI investments in a new SEC filing

• Microsoft disclosed an equity finance successful OpenAI for nan first time, SEC filings show.
• Microsoft antecedently disclosed its narration pinch OpenAI arsenic only a "partnership."
• Microsoft and OpenAI's narration has evolved successful caller months.

Microsoft disclosed an equity finance successful OpenAI for nan first time, according to its latest SEC filings.

On Wednesday, nan institution released its quarterly results. In legally required disclosures, Microsoft included accusation astir its narration pinch OpenAI.

"We person an finance successful OpenAI Global, LLC ("OpenAI") and person made full backing commitments of $13 billion," Microsoft wrote successful nan SEC filing connected Wednesday. "The finance is accounted for nether nan equity method of accounting."

Accounting master Francine McKenna told Business Insider that nan caller disclosure suggests that Microsoft's erstwhile investments successful OpenAI were "soft money," specified arsenic discounts aliases credits for services and soul spending that fell beneath a definite period wherever nan package elephantine didn't request to publically disclose details.

The latest "equity method investment" disclosure signals that Microsoft precocious purchased banal aliases stock authorities successful OpenAI, alternatively of conscionable partnering, said McKenna, who writes The Dig newsletter.

In early October, OpenAI completed a $6.6 cardinal backing information and Microsoft took portion successful that deal. OpenAI besides began a process of changing from a mostly non-profit statement to a much traiditional for-profit business.

In a erstwhile SEC filing, Microsoft described nan quality of its narration pinch OpenAI arsenic a business alternatively than an equity investment.

"We person a semipermanent business pinch OpenAI, a starring AI investigation and deployment company," Microsoft wrote successful its yearly SEC filing from precocious July. "We deploy OpenAI's models crossed our user and endeavor products. As OpenAI's exclusive unreality provider, Azure powers each of OpenAI's workloads. We person besides accrued our investments successful nan improvement and deployment of specialized supercomputing systems to accelerate OpenAI's research."

Microsoft's has had a narration pinch OpenAI since 2019, utilizing nan startup's ample connection models to underpin its ain generative AI products, specified arsenic its AI adjunct Copilot. In return, Microsoft provides OpenAI pinch monolithic cloud-computing resources.

The narration betwixt nan companies has evolved successful caller months. In nan July filing, Microsoft listed OpenAI arsenic a competitor for nan first time.

Are you a Microsoft worker aliases personification other pinch penetration to share?

Contact Ashley Stewart via nan encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) aliases email (astewart@businessinsider.com). Use a nonwork device.