OpenAI warns Microsoft ties pose risk ahead of potential IPO, CNBC reports

OPENAI said its close ties with Microsoft could be a potential risk to its business, telling investors that the software company is responsible for “a substantial portion of our financing and compute,” CNBC reported on Monday.

OpenAI included sections titled “Risks Related to the Transaction” and “Risks Related to our Business”, the report said, citing a financial document that resembles an IPO prospectus, which OpenAI shared with prospective investors tied to its recent record financing round.

The company is working with banking partners to secure an additional US$10 billion in commitments from a broader pool of investors, the report said, adding that the round is on track to close by the end of March.

“If Microsoft modifies or terminates its commercial partnership with us, or if we are unable to successfully diversify our business partners, our business, prospects, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected,” OpenAI said in the document viewed by CNBC.

“Microsoft is and will remain a critical long-term partner”, an OpenAI spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters, adding that the disclosure was a standard legal risk factor and not related to any potential IPO prospectus.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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OpenAI is laying the groundwork for an initial public offering that could value the company at up to US$1 trillion with an expected listing as soon as the second half of 2026, Reuters reported last year, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Microsoft was one of OpenAI’s earliest investors, injecting US$1 billion in 2019 and US$10 billion at the beginning of 2023. In September, the two signed a non-binding deal under new relationship terms, paving the way for OpenAI to sign deals with SoftBank, Nvidia, and Amazon. REUTERS