Microsoft in talks to acquire a 49% stake in ChatGPT owner OpenAI

Sahana Kiran
Microsoft
Source – Unsplash

ChatGPT is currently one of the leading topics of discussion on the internet. The artificial intelligence application is being utilized to answer questions, write reports, and also formulate software codes. Now, according to a report by Semafor, Microsoft Corp is discussing the possibility of acquiring OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT. The tech-industry giant is ready to pay upwards of $10 billion for the acquisition.

It is reported that Microsoft’s investment includes a rather peculiar agreement. The organization would receive 75% of OpenAI’s income until it has recovered its initial investment.

Additionally, a structure with the ownership of OpenAI would be put in place. Microsoft would entail a 49 percent stake while other investors would take over the other 49 percent. The remaining 2 percent will reportedly go to OpenAI’s non-profit parent firm.

The AI firm is currently raising funds at a $29 billion valuation. The firm is permitting employees along with early investors to sell their shares at the above-mentioned valuation.

OpenAI made its debut as a non-profit that would aid in bringing AI safely to the masses. However, its business model was revamped, and it emerged as a hybrid “capped profit” firm in 2019. During this time, Microsoft invested $1 billion in cash as well as cloud credits into the firm.

The ChatGPT owner hopes to garner $1 billion in revenue by 2024. Therefore, the latest partnership could be a blessing for Microsoft considering its counterpart Google has been exploring the AI ecosystem. Consequently, the increased demand for AI products could drive Microsoft to greater heights.

Microsoft to include ChatGPT in its office software?

Over the weekend, news broke out about Microsoft incorporating ChartGPT into its office software which includes Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. The Information reported the possibility of this inclusion.

The platform claims that it may boost the efficiency and productivity of the software. Users will be able to carry out tasks much faster and with more accuracy. The report further read,

“Microsoft has worked on incorporating OpenAI’s language-understanding model, GPT, to provide more useful search results when Outlook email customers look for information in their inboxes. For instance, GPT has the ability to figure out what emails the customer might be searching for even if they don’t type the exact keywords that are in the relevant emails, two people with direct knowledge of the plan said.”