SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft said Monday it will no longer pay a share of its revenue to ChatGPT maker OpenAI, the latest move to untether a close partnership that helped unleash an artificial intelligence boom.
OpenAI relied exclusively on Microsoft's investments in cloud computing services to build the technology that helped make ChatGPT a household name. Microsoft, in turn, relied on OpenAI's technology to build its own AI assistant Copilot.
But the partnership has evolved as San Francisco-based OpenAI, founded as a nonprofit, has shifted to a capitalistic enterprise on a path toward an initial public offering on Wall Street and has balanced its reliance on Microsoft with other cloud partners like Amazon, Google and Oracle.
OpenAI said Monday it will continue to pay Microsoft a share of its revenue through 2030.
The two companies said Microsoft remains the primary cloud computing partner for OpenAI, and products made by the AI company will ship first on Microsoft's cloud platform, called Azure, “unless Microsoft cannot and chooses not to support the necessary capabilities.”
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors Monday that the new agreement “puts OpenAI on a strong path forward to going public through IPO given its clearer opportunity in the cloud environment while reducing significant barriers from its original partnership with Microsoft.”
Ives said it's also important for Microsoft as it “looks to develop tech independence from OpenAI” in advancing Copilot's capabilities and partnering with other AI providers such as OpenAI rival Anthropic, maker of the chatbot Claude.
FILE - A ChapGPT logo is seen in West Chester, Pa., Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war stalled again over the weekend as both sides dug in on their demands, even as they face mounting pressure to reach a compromise.
Iran said it won’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the United States lifts its blockade and ends the war. U.S. President Donald Trump wants a broader deal that would end Iran’s nuclear program and address other issues like its missile program and support for regional proxies.
For both sides, the clock is ticking.
The continued closure of the strait has sent gas prices soaring and could cause further damage to the world economy ahead of U.S. midterm elections. The blockade is strangling Iran’s economy.
Each side is waiting for the other to blink. Here is what to know.
Iran's latest proposal would put off negotiations on its nuclear program to a future date.
Instead, the deal would only see Tehran end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Washington lifting its blockade on Iranian ports and a long-term or permanent truce, according to two regional officials with knowledge of the proposal who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.
That offer will likely be rejected by Trump. For one, it doesn't address the core issue he cited when he began bombing on Feb. 28: finding a way to ensure that Iran cannot build an atomic weapon. It also appears to be silent on other major questions, like Iran's missile program and its support of proxies in the region.
This weekend, Trump held back sending envoys to Pakistan, which has been playing a crucial mediating role. By saying the Iranians could call Washington with any proposal, Trump appears to be signaling he's content to try to continue to squeeze Iran via a blockade.
The U.S. blockade both squeezes Iran's oil sales — a key source of hard currency for its theocracy — and threatens to force Tehran to eventually shut down its production if it can't get its crude to market. Already, Iran has faced troubles at home over its economy, and it could worsen as time goes on.
The global economy also is suffering: With few ships able to cross the strait, through which about 20% of all traded oil and natural gas passes, oil and gasoline prices are skyrocketing and jet fuel, cooking gas and other energy products are starting to become scarce in parts of the world.
The closure has particularly put pressure on Trump's Gulf allies, which also use the waterway to export their oil and gas.
The current truce began April 8 after multiple deadlines posed by Trump that threatened Iran’s very “civilization” at one point. A separate ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon also has taken effect.
Trump has now extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely after whipsawing between various timelines for the conflict.
But negotiations for ending the war have stalled.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance took part in an earlier round of talks days after the truce began — the highest-level ones between America and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. They ended without agreement.
Pakistan is trying to get the two sides back to the table in Islamabad. But this weekend it took down all the checkpoints and security it had in place in anticipation of negotiations. That signals there’s no immediate hope of talks resuming.
While negotiations appear at a stalemate, the U.S. military presence in the Middle East continues to grow. As of Monday, the U.S. Navy had three aircraft carrier groups in the region: the USS Abraham Lincoln, the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS George H.W. Bush.
Those carriers include some 15,000 sailors and Marines, as well as over 200 aircraft and additional ships. An amphibious assault group led by the USS Tripoli is also in the Mideast, with its own sailors, Marines and aircraft.
That comes on top of the warplanes, refuelers and other troop deployments to the region.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Russian state news agency Tass said. That followed Araghchi's visits to Pakistan and Oman in recent days. Pakistan has been a key mediator in this war, and Oman has long has been a key interlocutor between the U.S. and Iran.
But Russia broadly has stayed out of the latest conflict. Moscow has been floated as a possibility to take in Iran's highly enriched uranium — removal of which Trump has insisted on. That uranium could be used to build a bomb, should Iran choose to pursue one — though Tehran insists its program is only for civilian purposes.
Russia has signaled it is willing to assist, though Tehran maintains it will not give up its stockpile.
All of Iran’s highly enriched uranium remains in the country, likely entombed at enrichment sites bombed by the U.S. during a 12-day war last June.
Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
A cargo ship sails in the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo)
An army soldier, left, walks as police officer drives motorcycle on an empty road ahead of second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
A soldier stands guard on a bridge ahead of second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/M.A. Sheikh)
Workers walk past billboards near the Serena Hotel ahead of the second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
