Secret Tech Payments Exposed: OpenAI’s Billion-Dollar Transfers to Microsoft Unearthed

A fresh leak of financial documents has pulled back the curtain on the massive sums of money flowing between OpenAI and its biggest partner, Microsoft. The numbers paint a startling picture of the costs involved in running a top-tier AI company and the intricate financial web that ties the two tech giants together.

Tech blogger Ed Zitron was the first to report on the figures, revealing that OpenAI paid Microsoft a staggering $493.8 million in 2024. That number ballooned to $865.8 million in just the first three quarters of 2025, according to the documents he obtained. These aren’t just abstract figures, they represent the massive computational power OpenAI rents from Microsoft to keep models like ChatGPT running for millions of users worldwide.

Inside the 20% Rule: How the AI Giants Split Their Billions

So, where are these numbers coming from? At the heart of the deal is a revenue-sharing agreement. As TechCrunch reported, citing sources close to the matter, OpenAI gives Microsoft about 20% of its revenue. But it’s not a one-way street. The arrangement is more of a tangled loop, with Microsoft also sending about 20% of the revenue it generates from Bing Chat and Azure OpenAI Service back to the AI firm.

Tom Warren, who has covered Microsoft’s AI strategy for years, points out that these reciprocal payments make it tricky to get a clear picture of who really profits more. It’s a complex relationship that goes far beyond a simple customer-vendor dynamic, blurring the lines between partnership and dependency. This financial dance is crucial for both, as Microsoft needs OpenAI’s cutting-edge models to power its products, and OpenAI needs Microsoft’s vast cloud infrastructure to exist.

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Is OpenAI Burning More Than It Earns?

While the revenue numbers are big, the costs might be even bigger. Ed Zitron’s analysis suggests a concerning trend. He calculated that OpenAI’s inference costs—the price of actually running its AI models to generate answers for users—hit a jaw-dropping $8.65 billion in just the first nine months of 2025. This spending seems to be outpacing the money coming in, raising serious questions about whether OpenAI can ever become truly profitable.

The enormous cost of AI compute is a well-known challenge in the industry, and these leaked figures bring the issue into sharp focus. For a company at the forefront of the AI revolution, the path to financial stability appears to be a steep and expensive climb. This situation has led some to wonder about the long-term viability of a business model that requires such massive, ongoing investment in AI infrastructure.

Microsoft Breaks Silence as Financials Leak

With speculation running rampant, Microsoft has been forced to respond. According to a report from the Financial Times, referenced in The Register, a Microsoft spokesperson pushed back on the leaked numbers, stating they “aren’t quite right.” This carefully worded denial does little to clear the air, instead highlighting the sensitive nature of the information and the ongoing dispute over the exact financials.

The timing of the leak is particularly interesting, as rumors of a potential OpenAI IPO continue to swirl. Publicly traded companies are required to disclose their financials in detail, and this leak offers a messy preview of the kind of scrutiny OpenAI would face. The lack of clear, confirmed figures only adds fuel to the fire.

How Will This Financial Alliance Reshape AI

Industry experts are watching this relationship closely, as it could set a precedent for the entire field. Alex Konrad, a senior editor at Forbes who covers venture capital and AI, has noted that deals of this magnitude show just how reliant even the leading AI firms are on the cloud computing giants. Without partners like Microsoft, Amazon, or Google, the cost of building and running large-scale AI would be prohibitive for almost everyone.

This dependency raises important questions about competition and innovation. As investors and regulators begin to demand more transparency, particularly ahead of a possible IPO, the inner workings of these partnerships will likely come under a microscope. As noted by The Times of India, these leaks show just how complex and intertwined these relationships have become.

What Happens Next as the Alliance Evolves

Looking ahead, the financial ties between OpenAI and Microsoft are only expected to get more complicated. According to unnamed sources cited by TechCrunch, this complexity could become a major flashpoint. Regulators are already scrutinizing Big Tech’s power, and a multi-billion-dollar alliance that shapes the future of a transformative technology like AI will undoubtedly attract their attention.

For now, both companies are pushing forward. But as OpenAI marches toward a rumored IPO, it will have to provide a clearer picture of its path to profitability—a path that runs directly through Microsoft’s data centers. How they navigate this evolving partnership will not only determine their own futures but could also set the rules of the game for the next era of technology.