Microsoft generated $10 billion in revenue from commercial deals with artificial intelligence developer OpenAI for the quarter ended September 30, according to data from the tech giant's financial report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Microsoft generated $10 billion in revenue from commercial deals with artificial intelligence developer OpenAI for the quarter ended September 30, according to data from the tech giant's financial report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The amount, which includes revenue sharing payments and Azure cloud services, represents nearly 11% of Microsoft’s total quarterly revenue of $92.3 billion, highlighting the enormous financial ties between the two entities, even as they compete more closely for the same customers, TechCrunch reported .
Note: Microsoft's fiscal year begins in July, so the quarter ending September 30, 2026, is the first quarter of the company's 2027 fiscal year.
For the entire 2026 fiscal year, Microsoft's cumulative revenue from deals with OpenAI reached $24.1 billion. If the current quarterly pace continues, Microsoft's annual revenue from these agreements will reach $40 billion.
At the end of September, OpenAI's debt to Microsoft had risen to $7.2 billion (up from $6 billion at the end of June). This is money from previous transactions, not new revenue.
Microsoft's stake in OpenAI has declined slightly, from around 25% in June to 24% in September. This is a continuation of the gradual decline from ~27% seen after the recapitalization in October 2025.
At present, the detailed picture of exactly how much of the $10 billion goes to revenue sharing and how much goes to Azure cloud computing remains undisclosed.
According to sources, OpenAI transfers about 20% of its revenue to Microsoft as part of early investment agreements, under which the software giant invested more than $13 billion in the startup. According to the agreements from April 2026, OpenAI will continue to share revenue with Microsoft until 2030 (with a cap), even taking into account the acquired right to work with other cloud providers.
The gradual weakening of the exclusivity of the partnership began back in October 2025. At that time, Microsoft gave up exclusive rights, giving OpenAI more freedom to cooperate with other cloud platforms . In return, the startup committed to purchasing an additional $250 billion in Azure services.
