Microsoft reports $10bn in quarterly revenue tied to OpenAI
Microsoft recorded $10 billion in revenue from commercial arrangements with OpenAI in the quarter ended September 30, including revenue-sharing payments. The figure represented nearly 11% of Microsoft’s $92.3 billion total quarterly revenue, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing.
The September quarter was the first quarter of Microsoft’s fiscal 2027, because its financial year begins in July. For fiscal 2026 as a whole, Microsoft said revenue related to OpenAI reached $24.1 billion. At the latest quarterly pace, those arrangements would amount to $40 billion annually.
A material relationship with limited disclosure
Microsoft did not break out how much of the $10 billion came from revenue sharing and how much came from Azure cloud computing services. That distinction matters because the reported amount combines different commercial flows rather than identifying a single product or service line.
The filing also listed $7.2 billion in outstanding receivables from OpenAI at the end of September, compared with $6 billion at the end of June. These receivables are amounts OpenAI owes Microsoft for previous transactions; they are not additional revenue.
The scale of the OpenAI relationship sits alongside Microsoft’s wider AI partnerships. The commercial context includes Microsoft gains from Anthropic and revises OpenAI valuation and shows that Microsoft’s enterprise AI position is shaped by multiple major counterparties rather than a single alliance.
Cloud commitments remain despite a looser partnership
Microsoft and OpenAI began unwinding parts of their formerly exclusive partnership in October 2025. Microsoft relinquished its hold on OpenAI, allowing the AI company greater freedom to work with other cloud providers.
In return, OpenAI agreed in October 2025 to purchase an additional $250 billion in Azure services. An April 2026 agreement also requires OpenAI to continue sharing revenue with Microsoft through 2030, subject to a cap, even while it can use competing cloud providers.
TechCrunch reported in November 2025, citing leaked documents, that Microsoft had received $865.8 million in net revenue-sharing payments from OpenAI during the first nine months of that year. OpenAI reportedly shares 20% of its revenue with Microsoft under an earlier agreement linked to Microsoft’s investment of more than $13 billion, although neither company has publicly confirmed that percentage.
Ownership and operating exposure
Microsoft’s ownership stake in OpenAI fell from about 25% in June to 24% in September, continuing a decline from roughly 27% after the October 2025 recapitalization. Microsoft did not specify the reason for the dilution.
For businesses assessing strategic AI suppliers, the practical implication is to separate reported revenue, contracted Azure demand, revenue-sharing terms and receivables when evaluating the durability of a major technology partnership.