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Dresser, who joined OpenAI in December after leading Salesforce's Slack division, told staff that enterprise demand since the Amazon deal launched in late February has been "staggering," with many clients preferring to access OpenAI's models through AWS's Bedrock platform rather than through Microsoft Azure.
Since then, OpenAI has moved aggressively to diversify its infrastructure, adding Google Cloud, Oracle, and CoreWeave alongside Azure. Microsoft, meanwhile, has been building its own frontier AI models in-house, with its AI chief Mustafa Suleyman stating the company aims to reach state-of-the-art capabilities by 2027.
OpenAI's enterprise business now accounts for forty percent of total revenue and is expected to match consumer revenue by the end of 2026. The developments arrive as OpenAI prepares for a potential initial public offering in late 2026 or early 2027 at a valuation recently set at eight hundred and fifty-two billion dollars.
OpenAI Memo Reveals Microsoft Friction as Amazon Enterprise Demand Surges
April 13, 2026
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An internal OpenAI memo from Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser describes Amazon Web Services as a central driver of enterprise growth, while candidly stating that the Microsoft relationship has limited OpenAI's ability to reach clients on their preferred cloud platforms. Enterprise demand through AWS Bedrock has been described as staggering since the partnership launched in late February.
OpenAI Pivots Toward Amazon as Microsoft Tensions Surface
An internal memo from OpenAI's Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser has laid bare a growing rift between the AI company and its longtime backer Microsoft, while positioning the newer Amazon Web Services partnership as a transformative commercial opportunity.Dresser, who joined OpenAI in December after leading Salesforce's Slack division, told staff that enterprise demand since the Amazon deal launched in late February has been "staggering," with many clients preferring to access OpenAI's models through AWS's Bedrock platform rather than through Microsoft Azure.
Microsoft's Grip Loosens
The memo's frank language about Microsoft's constraints reflects a broader strategic shift. Microsoft, which has invested more than thirteen billion dollars in OpenAI since 2019, listed the AI startup as a competitor for the first time in its fiscal 2024 annual report. In September 2025, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding that formally ended Microsoft's exclusive role as OpenAI's cloud provider.Since then, OpenAI has moved aggressively to diversify its infrastructure, adding Google Cloud, Oracle, and CoreWeave alongside Azure. Microsoft, meanwhile, has been building its own frontier AI models in-house, with its AI chief Mustafa Suleyman stating the company aims to reach state-of-the-art capabilities by 2027.
Amazon Deal Reshapes the Landscape
The Amazon partnership, announced on 26 February, included a commitment of up to fifty billion dollars in investment and made AWS the exclusive third-party cloud distribution provider for OpenAI's Frontier enterprise platform. OpenAI also committed to consuming roughly two gigawatts of Amazon's custom Trainium chip capacity and expanding an existing cloud agreement by one hundred billion dollars over eight years.OpenAI's enterprise business now accounts for forty percent of total revenue and is expected to match consumer revenue by the end of 2026. The developments arrive as OpenAI prepares for a potential initial public offering in late 2026 or early 2027 at a valuation recently set at eight hundred and fifty-two billion dollars.
Published April 13, 2026 at 5:15pm
