Last week, OpenAI announced it would be cutting in half the percentage of revenue it shares with its commercial partners — Microsoft is one of them. Now, the foundation has to give 20% of its whole revenue back to Microsoft. By the end of this decade, OpenAI hopes to reduce this number to 10%. This shift in strategy is an interesting and significant pivot away from OpenAI’s previous impression on revenue sharing and partnership contracts.
The Information recently reported on this exciting development, focusing on the changes that the new revenue-sharing model means for localities. OpenAI’s decision likely reflects a larger restructuring plan that has shifted dramatically in recent months. Moving forward, the organization will be converting its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation (PBC). This audacious action better focuses its day-to-day activities on larger social objectives, even as it continues to prioritize the needs of its nonprofit arm.
According to the new arrangement, OpenAI’s for-profit business will stay insulated from the influence of its nonprofit arm. This dual structure prioritizes the bottom line over everything else. Simultaneously, it makes sure that artificial intelligence serves the whole of humanity. TechCrunch exclusively broke the news of this new plan on May 6, 2025. That follows on the heels of a new restructuring plan that OpenAI shared with its employees in an email on Dec.
This change in revenue-sharing strategy is an important indicator of OpenAI’s willingness to reconsider its financial partnerships and business model. OpenAI can increase its R&D reinvestment by lowering the percentage of revenue it plans to share with its partners. This reinvestment is imperative to ensuring we stay competitive in the rapidly advancing age of artificial intelligence.
