OpenAI and Microsoft have announced an extension of their partnership according to a published statement. The artificial intelligence research lab and the tech giant have orchestrated a multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment, in the extension.

“Today, we are announcing the third phase of our long-term partnership with OpenAI through a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment to accelerate AI breakthroughs to ensure these benefits are broadly shared with the world,” Microsoft stated.

Prior to this, the two platforms had cooperated on projects through investments made by Microsoft in 2019 and 2021. Additionally, according to the developer of ChatGPT, the investment partnership will support their ongoing research into the still-relatively unexplored field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

According to OpenAI this partnership will allow the company to continue its independent research and develop AI that is increasingly safe, useful, and powerful.

Additionally, the ChatGPT creator noted, “This partnership allows us to raise the capital we need to fulfill our mission without sacrificing our core beliefs about broadly sharing benefits and the need to prioritize safety.” 

Furthermore, OpenAI has made note of Microsofts alignment with the values of the research firm. While discussing the multitude of ways that the collaborative efforts have been beneficial to its endeavors.

Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft commented on the partnership saying, “We formed our partnership with OpenAI around a shared ambition to responsibly advance cutting-edge AI research and democratize AI as a new technology platform.” 

She added, “In this next phase of our partnership, developers and organizations across industries will have access to the best AI infrastructure, models, and toolchain with Azure to build and run their applications.”

OpenAI also stated that the two companies have constructed, multiple supercomputing systems powered by Azure, a training protocol for all models, and Microsoft will increase their investment in this system to accelerate their independent research, alongside Azure’s exclusivity in the program.

According to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the past three years of our partnership have been great. 

“Microsoft shares our values, we are excited to continue our independent research and work toward creating advanced AI that benefits everyone,” he stated.