Microsoft Expands Partnership with OpenAI, Invests Billions More

Microsoft Expands Partnership¹ with OpenAI, Invests Billions More

American technology company Microsoft has announced a new, multibillion-dollar investment in artificial intelligence (AI) developer OpenAI.

The deal marks the latest deepening of ties between the two companies. Microsoft first invested in OpenAI in 2019, when it put $1 billion into the company.

Microsoft officials did not name a number for the latest investment. But people with knowledge of talks between the two companies recently told Reuters news agency the amount was at least $10 billion.

OpenAI is a research and development company centered on AI projects. The startup was launched in late 2015 by American billionaire Elon Musk² and others.

On its website, OpenAI declares that it exists "to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity." The company defines AGI as "highly autonomous³ systems that outperform humans at economically valuable work."

In late November, OpenAI launched a free writing tool called ChatGPT. The launch led to widespread media attention about the current possibilities involving new developments in AI.

ChatGPT is part of a new generation of machine-learning systems designed to produce many forms of human-like writing. The tool can autonomously⁴ produce complex documents in seconds. Technology experts have said such systems have the possibility to greatly change many different industries and professions.

ChatGPT is so good at writing school reports that some officials in the United States have blocked the system on school devices and networks in an effort to prevent students from cheating.

Another OpenAI product called DALL-E can produce realistic images and art from a simple description in natural language.

Basic versions of the two OpenAI products are free to the public.

As part of its partnership, Microsoft provides "supercomputing systems" to OpenAI to support the development of new AI products.

ChatGPT and DALL-E require powerful computers to operate the machine-learning models the systems use. OpenAI says the tools can produce human-like results because they have been trained on huge amounts of data. A range of materials – including digital books, online writings and other media – are fed into ChatGPT and DALL-E to permit the tools to learn complex skills.

Microsoft to expand services with AI

In a statement announcing its new investment in OpenAI, Microsoft said it will continue to deploy⁵ OpenAI's models across many of its product lines. Specifically, Microsoft said its partnership with OpenAI will permit the company to expand offerings in its Azure⁶ OpenAI service. Azure is Microsoft's cloud-computing service.

Microsoft said Azure OpenAI Service helps developers build new AI systems by making OpenAI's models available to its users. Microsoft said that since 2016, it centered on efforts aimed at "building Azure into an AI supercomputer for the world."

Rowan Curran is an expert with the market research company Forrester. He told The Associated Press he thinks it currently makes good sense for OpenAI and Microsoft to expand their relationship.

"There's lots of ways that the models that OpenAI is building would be really appealing for Microsoft's set of offerings," Curran said.

For example, OpenAI models could help produce writing and images for new business presentations or create smarter word processors. The technology could also help Microsoft's own search engine, Bing, compete more effectively with Google. AI could make Bing more user-friendly by providing search results that include more complete answers, rather than just links.

OpenAI noted⁷ in a statement that it will still be governed by its nonprofit arm and that it remains⁸ a "capped-profit" company. OpenAI did not, however, identify what limits it sets on profits.

Microsoft's investment came days after the company confirmed it was cutting 10,000 workers, representing about 5 percent of its total workforce⁹. The company said the reductions were linked to "macroeconomic conditions" and changing customer needs.

Words in This Story

artificial intelligence – n. the development of computer systems that have the ability to perform work that normally requires human intelligence

benefit – n. a good result or effect

autonomous – adj. having the ability to work independently

cap – v. to put a limit on an amount of money that can be borrowed, charged, etc.

customer – n. a person or company that buys goods and services

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

3 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

4 autonomously   

adv. 自律地，自治地

参考例句：

• To learn autonomously in the network environment is totally new to students. 基于网络环境下的自主学习对学生来说，是一种全新的学习方式。
• The QC-RS can operate autonomously or by remote control. QC-RS能实现自动操作或通过遥控来操作。

5 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

6 azure   

adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的

参考例句：

• His eyes are azure.他的眼睛是天蓝色的。
• The sun shone out of a clear azure sky.清朗蔚蓝的天空中阳光明媚。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。