ChatGPT and Dall·E2 themselves are excellent AI models. However, looking back on past history, no matter how advanced they are in terms of technology, there is no doubt that companies that will catch up with OpenAI will appear one after another as time passes. However, even so, it seems that Microsoft values the “autonomy” of OpenAI and intends to strategically work on the “fruits” (research results) born from it into its own products.
The “additional investment on the scale of several billion dollars” announced in January 2023 seems to be an extension of the past two investments. There is no explanation of the investment scheme from Microsoft or OpenAI, but when various reports from overseas are synthesized, the investment scheme is as follows.
- Microsoft invested billions of dollars (up to $10 billion) over several years
- Microsoft will receive 75% of the profits generated by OpenAI until the return on investment is completed
- After the return on investment, Microsoft can acquire up to 49% of OpenAI's shares
Additionally, OpenAI's various AI platforms have been ported to Microsoft's cloud infrastructure “Azure,” and Azure will also be used in learning processes.
I think Microsoft's real aim is to innovate the “way it is used” and “how it is used” of the internet.