--- title: "OpenAI May Have Screwed Up So Badly That Its Entire Future Is Under Threat" description: "In its quest to become a for-profit entity, OpenAI may have catastrophically fumbled the bag with Microsoft." date: "2025-06-21" modified: "2025-06-21" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-microsoft-future" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "investors" - "microsoft" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # OpenAI May Have Screwed Up So Badly That Its Entire Future Is Under Threat ![In its quest to become a for-profit entity, OpenAI may have catastrophically fumbled the bag with Microsoft.]() *\Image: Justin Sullivan / Getty / Futurism\* ## Forgiveness or Permission In its quest to become a for-profit entity, OpenAI may have catastrophically fumbled the bag with its patron Microsoft. As the [*Financial Times* reports]() based on insider interviews, Microsoft is ready to walk away from the frustrating negotiations with OpenAI as both parties seek to renew their partnership amid the latter's for-profit push. Earlier in the week, the [*Wall Street Journal* revealed]() the increasing tensions between Microsoft and OpenAI about whether the larger company will even allow the smaller to go for-profit at all. Along with OpenAI seeking Microsoft's blessing in its battle for profit — a push that has already proven [legally problematic]() — the *FT*'s reporting indicates that one of the chief sticking points between the two is the size of Microsoft's future investments in OpenAI, potentially hobbling the latter's endless quest for growth. ## Deal or No Deal According to the *FT*'s unnamed insiders, representatives from the David-and-Goliath tech duo have been meeting daily to try to pin down a deal that would satisfy both. In exchange for its massive investment in the AI company, per this new reporting, Microsoft has battled for the better part of the year to get up to 49 percent of OpenAI's revenues — up from the 20 percent it gets right now under the terms of the current deal. "We have a long-term, productive partnership that has delivered amazing AI tools for everyone," OpenAI and Microsoft said in a joint statement to the *WSJ* earlier in the week. "Talks are ongoing and we are optimistic we will continue to build together for years to come." That terse statement belies the reportedly explosive tension between the companies, which has apparently gotten so near a boiling point that OpenAI is considering a "nuclear option": taking Microsoft to court for allegedly engaging in anticompetitive practices, per the *WSJ*. **More on OpenAI:** [*Desperate Zuckerberg Apparently Offering OpenAI Staffers $100 Million Bonuses to Come Save His Failing AI Efforts*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()