A Microsoft filing shows OpenAI brought in $10 billion for the company in one quarter, about 11% of its revenue. Here is why that tie matters to anyone using their tools.
Microsoft made $10 billion from its business deals with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, in the three months ending September 30. The company disclosed it in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. That is nearly 11% of Microsoft's total quarterly revenue of $92.3 billion. The two companies now compete for some of the same customers, yet their money is still deeply tied together.
The $10 billion covers commercial arrangements with OpenAI, including revenue-sharing payments. For Microsoft's full 2026 fiscal year, revenue from OpenAI was $24.1 billion. At the latest quarterly pace, Microsoft would collect about $40 billion a year from OpenAI-related deals. Microsoft's financial year starts in July, so this quarter is the first of its fiscal 2027.
Microsoft also reported $7.2 billion in outstanding receivables from OpenAI at the end of September. That is up from $6 billion at the end of June. Receivables are money owed for past transactions. They are not extra revenue.
The stake was roughly 27% after OpenAI's October 2025 recapitalization, so it has slipped gradually. Microsoft did not say what caused the dilution. Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing service.
The filing does not say how much of the $10 billion came from revenue sharing and how much from Azure cloud services. TechCrunch has asked Microsoft for more detail. OpenAI reportedly shares 20% of its revenue with Microsoft, but neither company has confirmed that figure. Leaked documents reported in November 2025 showed Microsoft received $865.8 million in net revenue-sharing payments in the first nine months of that year.
Anyone who uses Microsoft or ChatGPT tools at work is relying on two companies whose finances are tightly linked. A problem at one could spill over to the other. For now, the numbers show the relationship is large and growing, even as the companies loosen their exclusive ties.
Microsoft and OpenAI still depend heavily on each other financially, so trouble at one could affect the other, and the tools you use at work.
Turing Award winner Richard Sutton says more computing power alone will not make AI truly smart. Big AI companies disagree, which matters for anyone betting on AI.
Read more: AI pioneer says piling on computing power won't make machines smartDeactivated Uber and Instacart workers are turning to ChatGPT to write appeals and build evidence. One driver says he got his account back in about a week.
Read more: Gig workers use ChatGPT to fight getting kicked off Uber and InstacartA former Nvidia product manager has started Udu Technologies to let African startups and institutions rent AI computing power instead of buying it.
Read more: Ex-Nvidia engineer starts company to bring AI computing power to Africa
