Microsoft is preparing to fold OpenAI’s custom AI chip designs into its own semiconductor strategy, with CEO Satya Nadella confirming that the company will use OpenAI’s system-level innovations to strengthen its in-house development.
Speaking on a podcast released Wednesday, Nadella said Microsoft now has access to OpenAI’s chip and hardware research through 2030 and continued access to OpenAI’s models through 2032 under the recently revised partnership agreement.
OpenAI is co-developing specialised AI processors and networking hardware with Broadcom, while Microsoft has been building its own chips with mixed success compared with rivals like Google. Nadella emphasised that Microsoft intends first to help industrialise the designs OpenAI is creating for its own needs — and then extend them under Microsoft’s intellectual-property rights to advance its broader cloud and AI roadmap. The expanded cooperation underscores the strategic alignment between the two companies as AI hardware competitiveness becomes increasingly central to scaling next-generation models.
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Microsoft’s move to adopt and extend OpenAI’s chip designs signals a deeper push into vertically integrated AI infrastructure. Tighter control over hardware could reduce dependence on third-party suppliers, improve model-training efficiency and sharpen competition with Google and Amazon in cloud-scale AI compute.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.