Microsoft (MSFT) is investing $10 billion U.S. in OpenAI, the company whose artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT has become a worldwide phenomenon.
Launched last November, ChatGPT has attracted more than a million users and sparked a debate about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace and education.
The latest $10 billion U.S. investment comes after Microsoft put $1 billion U.S. into OpenAI in two previous funding rounds. The money gives Microsoft access to OpenAI’s advanced artificial intelligence systems.
In a blog post, Microsoft said it plans to release new products based on OpenAI’s work.
Microsoft said it wants to use the developer’s language AI with its Bing search engine, Office applications, Teams chat program, and security software.
Microsoft competes against Google parent company Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) in AI applications that can generate texts, images, and other media in response to short voice commands and prompts.
OpenAI needs not only Microsoft’s funding but also its cloud computing network to help it crunch massive amounts of data and information.
The investment deal should boost Microsoft’s Azure cloud unit, while providing OpenAI with access to the supercomputers needed to run its complex AI models and fuel its current and future research.
Seattle-based Microsoft’s stock is down 18% over the last year and trading at $242.58 U.S. per share.
