Microsoft's early bet on OpenAI is weighing heavily on Azure, causing 45% of its backlog — but it's finally starting to pay off
Sam Altman and Satya Nadella on stage
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Sam Altman and Satya Nadella on stage
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks at OpenAI DevDay, the company's annual conference for developers, in San Francisco, California, on October 6, 2025.
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Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a talk session with SoftBank Group.
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ChatGPT and Adobe logo side by side
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ANKARA, TURKIYE - AUGUST 13: In this photo illustration, the logo of OpenAI logo is being displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of another screen displaying a robotic hand, in Ankara, Turkiye on August 13, 2025. (Photo by Ismail Aslandag/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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OpenAI logo with ChatGPT images promotional video screencap
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Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, is pictured on September 25, 2025 in Berlin, Germany.
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BEIJING, CHINA - AUGUST 08: In this photo illustration, the logo of Open AI is displayed on a smartphone screen with a GPT-5 logo in the background on August 8, 2025 in Beijing, China. OpenAI on August 7 announced GPT-5, its latest and most advanced AI model. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
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Sam Altman and Lisa Su
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The Sora App home page displays on a smartphone screen placed on a computer keyboard illuminated by blue and purple light.
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Parents holding up OpenAI
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Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI Inc., during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
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An image of a woman holding a laptop in front of a ChatGPT logo displayed on a computer screen.
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SoftBank's Pepper humanoid robot stands on display during the SoftBank World 2018 conference on July 19, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan.
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Sam Altman speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024.
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Sam Altman Co-founder and CEO of OpenAI speaks during the Italian Tech Week 2024
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The ChatGPT app is seen on a mobile device.
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Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, speaks at a joint press conference announcing a strategic partnership with Kakao at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, on February 4, 2025.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 06: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the OpenAI DevDay event on November 06, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Altman delivered the keynote address at the first-ever Open AI DevDay conference. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks during Snowflake Summit 2025 at Moscone Center on June 02, 2025 in San Francisco, California.
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