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Google has recently asked the United States government to intervene and dismantle Microsoft's exclusive agreement to host OpenAI's technology on its cloud servers, according to The Information as reported by Reuters.
Citing a source, the report claimed that the discussion occurred after the US Federal Trade Commission asked Google about Microsoft's business practices as part of a broader investigation.
It added that tech companies including Google and Amazon, which also compete with Microsoft in cloud services, are seeking to host OpenAI's models. This would enable their cloud customers to access OpenAI's technology without depending on Microsoft’s servers.
Companies that purchase ChatGPT-maker OpenAI's technology through Microsoft may subjected to additional costs if they are not using a Microsoft server to run their operations, the report noted.
Google and other tech companies highlighted that these costs will eventually harm their consumer base.
Google vs Microsoft
However, it is not an unknown fact that Google's perspective on Microsoft's AI is less than favourable. Recently, in a recent interview at The New York Times' DealBook Summit Google CEO Sundar Pichai took a jibe at its competitor Microsoft.
He pointed out that Google develops its own AI models while Microsoft relies on external models from companies like OpenAI.
It came after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that Google should have been the default winner in the AI race as they have both the talent and the compute.
Earlier to this incident, Nadella also made a comment on Google’s edge in terms of search business after launching AI-powered Bing search engine.
Nadella called Google a 800-pound gorilla and hoped that Microsoft's innovation would make Google come out and show that they can dance.
And I want people to know that we made them dance, and I think that’ll be a great day,” Nadella added.
To which, Pichai responded that he was focused and not “playing to someone else’s dance music" during an interview with Bloomberg.
Microsoft and OpenAI Partnership
Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership started in 2019, when the tech giant invested its first $1 billion in the AI research company.
Reportedly, this partnership strengthened when in January 2023, Microsoft committed to a further reported $10 billion investment, which not only cemented its position as OpenAI's largest investor but also exclusive cloud provider.
This partnership helped OpenAI to access Microsoft's vast computational resources and financial backing and in return Microsoft integrated OpenAI's cutting-edge AI models into its products and services.
