OpenAI is weighing a change that could reshape one of the most important commercial relationships in artificial intelligence: whether Microsoft should keep using OpenAI’s most advanced models after the company reaches Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
The issue centers on a clause in OpenAI’s corporate structure. That clause was designed to block Microsoft’s access to the company’s most advanced models once AGI is achieved, because the technology was considered too powerful to be used for commercial purposes.
Why the AGI clause matters
According to the Financial Times, several sources familiar with the matter say Microsoft should be able to continue investing in OpenAI and using its technologies even after that milestone is reached.
That would be a major shift in how OpenAI balances its mission, its investors and the commercial use of powerful AI systems. The clause exists because AGI is treated as a boundary line: once OpenAI reaches it, the current structure could limit Microsoft’s access to the most advanced models.
The debate is not only about one partner. It is also about what OpenAI becomes as its products, funding needs and governance model evolve. Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI, making the outcome of these talks significant for both companies.
OpenAI’s structure is changing
The discussions are taking place as OpenAI continues its transformation into a Public Benefit Corporation. As part of that process, the Sam Altman-led company is negotiating new terms with investors, including Microsoft.
At a New York Times conference, Altman said OpenAI had not expected to become a product company or require such large investments. “If we knew those things, we would have picked a different structure,” the CEO said.
That comment points to the tension now facing OpenAI. The company’s original structure included safeguards around powerful AI, but its role has changed as its technologies have become products and attracted large-scale investment.
The possible removal of the clause would not necessarily mean the end of OpenAI’s non-profit structure. The source article says that structure is expected to remain and benefit from any new arrangements.
No final decision yet
The board has not made a final decision, according to the report. OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor emphasized the company’s commitment to advancing its mission.
Microsoft declined to comment.
For now, the matter remains under discussion. The board is weighing options while OpenAI works through how its governance should handle advanced models, investor rights and the company’s stated mission.
Commercial pressure and criticism
The talks also arrive amid criticism of OpenAI’s commercialization. Critics, including Tesla CEO and OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk, argue that Altman’s increasing commercial focus betrays the company’s original goals.
Musk has since founded competitor xAI and filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft. The definition of AGI would likely become a central issue in the legal proceedings.
That makes the AGI clause more than a technical governance detail. If AGI determines when commercial access changes, then the meaning of AGI becomes central to the company’s legal, commercial and strategic future.
What to watch next
The most important questions are still unresolved:
- Whether OpenAI removes or changes the clause limiting Microsoft’s access after AGI.
- How new investor terms fit into the Public Benefit Corporation transition.
- How OpenAI keeps its non-profit structure involved in any new arrangement.
- How the definition of AGI factors into disputes around OpenAI and Microsoft.
OpenAI’s decision could shape who benefits from its most advanced AI models and under what conditions. The company is trying to adjust a structure built for one future to fit a reality in which its technologies are already central to major products and large investments.