In October 2025, Microsoft and OpenAI architected a coopetition protocol. In April 2026, they finalized it. The amendment announced this week doesn’t extend the partnership; it prices it.

Exclusivity, the AGI cliff, and the right of first refusal are gone. In their place: a capped revenue share, a non-exclusive license through 2032, and a clean path for OpenAI to chase its $852B valuation toward an IPO.

To understand why this matters, you have to walk back through how this relationship was built — and forward through how it now reshapes the entire AI market map.