Microsoft was worried OpenAI would run off to Amazon and ‘shit-talk’ Azure
TL;DR
Court documents from the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial reveal rare communications between Microsoft's top executives about investing in OpenAI and fears the AI startup could 'storm off to Amazon' and 'shit-talk' Microsoft. Days after OpenAI's bot beat a Dota 2 pro in 2017, Sam Altman responded to Satya Nadella's congratulations email with a proposal for a far bigger partnership to fund OpenAI's next AI research phase. The internal messages expose how uncertain Microsoft was about locking down its AI ally.
Nauti's Take
Nauti finds this peek behind the curtain genuinely interesting: even a multi-billion-dollar partnership felt fragile in its early days, and Microsoft now has to own its old playbook in public. The risk is what the disclosures mean for current AI deals — no investor wants their internal emails surfacing years later in court.
Anyone negotiating with hyperscalers benefits from the new transparency, but should tighten exit and IP clauses carefully.
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