Since investing almost $14 billion in OpenAI, Microsoft has backed rival AI startups, started building its own AI models and is balking at signing off on its partner’s restructuring plan. OpenAI has inked deals with rival cloud computing partners and spent much of the past two years building out a suite of paid subscription products for businesses, schools and individuals. The startup recently agreed to acquire AI coding assistant Windsurf, which competes with Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot.
It’s unclear whether OpenAI’s momentum with corporations will continue, but the company recently said it has 3 million paying business users, a 50% jump from just a few months earlier. A Microsoft spokesperson said Copilot is used by 70% of the Fortune 500 and paid users have tripled compared with this time last year
Gartner analyst Jason Wong said many companies are still testing Copilot with relatively few employees, leaving room for various software vendors to win customers. But for now, he said, it’s “kind of a showdown” between OpenAI and Microsoft.
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Both companies are essentially pitching the same thing: AI assistants that can handle onerous tasks — researching and writing; analyzing data — potentially letting office workers focus on thornier challenges. Since both chatbots are largely based on the same OpenAI models, Microsoft’s salesforce has struggled to differentiate Copilot from the much better-known ChatGPT, according to people familiar with the situation.
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