Microsoft booked $10 billion in revenue from its commercial deals with OpenAI in the quarter that ended September 30. TechCrunch AI reports that the company disclosed the figure in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. That’s nearly 11% of Microsoft’s $92.3 billion in total quarterly revenue. So while the two companies now compete for the same customers more and more, OpenAI is still one of the biggest sources of money Microsoft has.
The Short Version
- $10 billion in OpenAI-related revenue in Q1 of Microsoft’s fiscal 2027 (July to September 2026)
- About 11% of Microsoft’s total revenue for the quarter
- $24.1 billion from OpenAI across all of fiscal 2026
- About $40 billion a year if the current quarterly pace holds
- $7.2 billion that OpenAI owed Microsoft at the end of September, up from $6 billion in June
- 24% is Microsoft’s stake in OpenAI now, down from about 25% in June and roughly 27% after the October 2025 recapitalization
Why This Number Matters
What stands out is the speed. In fiscal 2026, Microsoft made $24.1 billion from OpenAI over twelve months. One quarter now brings in more than 40% of that. Whatever OpenAI is buying or sharing, the bill is growing fast.
We don’t know exactly what that $10 billion is made of. The filing doesn’t split revenue-sharing payments from Azure cloud computing sales, and TechCrunch AI says it has asked Microsoft for details. That split matters a lot. Revenue sharing means OpenAI’s products are earning real money. Azure spending means OpenAI is paying for huge amounts of compute to train and run its models. Those are two very different stories about what OpenAI’s economics look like.
The $7.2 billion that OpenAI owes Microsoft (accountants call these receivables) is worth watching too. It isn’t extra revenue. It’s money for past transactions that OpenAI hasn’t paid yet. When that balance keeps rising alongside revenue, it usually means the customer’s spending is growing faster than its payments.
How We Got Here
This used to be the most exclusive partnership in AI. Here’s how it has loosened:
- The original deal: Microsoft invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI. OpenAI reportedly shares 20% of its revenue with Microsoft, though neither company has confirmed that number publicly.
- October 2025: Microsoft gave up its exclusive hold, so OpenAI could work with other cloud providers. In return, OpenAI committed to buying another $250 billion in Azure services.
- April 2026: A new agreement keeps OpenAI sharing revenue with Microsoft through 2030, subject to a cap, while it’s free to use competing clouds.
Compare that to where things stood a year ago. In November 2025, TechCrunch AI reported from leaked documents that Microsoft had received $865.8 million in net revenue-sharing payments from OpenAI in the first nine months of 2025. Now the total relationship brings in more than ten times that amount in a single quarter. Most of the increase almost certainly comes from Azure consumption tied to that $250 billion commitment, though we can’t confirm that until Microsoft breaks out the numbers.
What It Means for the Industry
This is significant because it shows how the AI money actually flows. Model labs raise huge sums, and much of that capital goes straight to the cloud providers that rent them compute. Microsoft gets paid on both ends. It owns part of OpenAI and it sells OpenAI the infrastructure.
There’s a catch, though. When one customer brings in 11% of your revenue, you depend on that customer, even if you’re Microsoft. If OpenAI moves more work to other clouds, or its revenue sharing hits the cap before 2030, the number could stop climbing. The dilution of Microsoft’s stake (the filing doesn’t say what caused it) shows OpenAI keeps bringing in money from other investors.
What to Watch Next
- The revenue breakdown: If Microsoft splits revenue sharing from Azure sales, we’ll learn a lot about OpenAI’s real business.
- Receivables: If the amount OpenAI owes keeps rising, people will start asking harder questions about its cash flow.
- Multi-cloud deals: Every compute deal OpenAI signs with Azure’s rivals could slow Microsoft’s growth from this relationship.
- Ownership changes: Microsoft’s stake has slipped three points in a year, and new funding rounds would keep pushing it down.
For now, the numbers show these two companies still need each other, even as they compete for the same customers. TechCrunch AI has more detail in its original report.