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

Sam Altman and Satya Nadella on stage

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks at OpenAI DevDay, the company's annual conference for developers, in San Francisco, California, on October 6, 2025.

Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a talk session with SoftBank Group.

ChatGPT and Adobe logo side by side

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)

OpenAI logo with ChatGPT images promotional video screencap

Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, is pictured on September 25, 2025 in Berlin, Germany.

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)

Sam Altman and Lisa Su

The Sora App home page displays on a smartphone screen placed on a computer keyboard illuminated by blue and purple light.

Parents holding up OpenAI

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.

An image of a woman holding a laptop in front of a ChatGPT logo displayed on a computer screen.

SoftBank's Pepper humanoid robot stands on display during the SoftBank World 2018 conference on July 19, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan.

Sam Altman speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024.

Sam Altman Co-founder and CEO of OpenAI speaks during the Italian Tech Week 2024

The ChatGPT app is seen on a mobile device.

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.

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)

Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks during Snowflake Summit 2025 at Moscone Center on June 02, 2025 in San Francisco, California.
