Microsoft was worried OpenAI would run off to Amazon and ‘shit-talk’ Azure
Published: (May 8, 2026 at 11:25 AM EDT)
1 min read
Source: The Verge
Source: The Verge
Background
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott. (Image: Getty Images)
When OpenAI was busy experimenting with AI‑powered gaming bots, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were in the early days of forming an AI partnership. Court documents from the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial have provided a rare look at the communications between Microsoft’s top executives about investing in OpenAI and fears the AI startup could “storm off to Amazon” and “shit‑talk” Microsoft.
Partnership proposal
Just days after OpenAI showed a bot beating a Dota 2 professional in the summer of 2017, Altman responded to Nadella’s congratulations email with a proposal for a much bigger partnership with OpenAI to fund its next phase of AI research.