What happened
Microsoft generated $10 billion in revenue from its commercial arrangements with OpenAI in the quarter ended September 30, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The figure includes revenue-sharing payments from the ChatGPT maker.
That is nearly 11% of Microsoft's $92.3 billion in total revenue for the quarter. Microsoft's financial year begins in July, so the quarter was the first of its fiscal 2027.
For the full 2026 fiscal year, revenue from OpenAI reached $24.1 billion. At the latest quarterly pace, Microsoft would pull in $40 billion a year from OpenAI-related arrangements.
Microsoft also reported $7.2 billion in outstanding receivables from OpenAI at the end of September, up from $6 billion at the end of June. That money is what OpenAI owes for previous transactions, not additional revenue.
Why it matters
The disclosure shows how deep the financial ties between the two companies still run, even as they increasingly compete for the same customers. Microsoft invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI, and OpenAI reportedly shares 20% of its revenue with Microsoft under an earlier deal. Neither company has publicly confirmed that percentage.
The ties are loosening, not ending. Under an April 2026 agreement, OpenAI keeps sharing revenue with Microsoft through 2030, subject to a cap, while being free to work with competing cloud providers. In October 2025, Microsoft gave up its exclusive hold on OpenAI, and OpenAI committed to buying an additional $250 billion in Azure services.
For US readers, the numbers show how much of the AI boom still flows through two American companies, and how closely Microsoft's results are now tied to OpenAI's fortunes. Rival lab [Anthropic's recent IPO](/article/anthropic-ipo-leaves-public-investors-little-control) showed investors are hungry for AI exposure, even when public shareholders get little control. And the AI boom's effect on [US jobs](/article/ai-cut-117000-us-jobs-2026-wage-dashboard) is already a live question for American workers.
Microsoft's ownership stake in OpenAI slipped from about 25% in June to 24% in September, continuing a gradual decline from roughly 27% after the October 2025 recapitalization. Microsoft did not say what caused the dilution.
What happens next
One key detail is still missing: Microsoft did not break out how much of the $10 billion came from revenue-sharing payments versus Azure cloud services. TechCrunch said it has asked the company for more information.
Watch the receivables figure too. If the $7.2 billion OpenAI owes keeps climbing, it will raise questions about how much of the partnership's revenue is cash in hand versus money still to be collected.
OpenAI's technology is spreading fast, and its [AI agents](/article/openai-ai-agents-hacked-websites-crypto-wallet) have already shown they can go wrong in costly ways. How OpenAI balances that growth with its revenue commitments to Microsoft through 2030 will shape both companies for years.
