Microsoft is considering legal action against OpenAI and Amazon over a reported $50 billion cloud agreement that could breach existing contractual arrangements, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The dispute centres on a deal that designates Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the exclusive third-party cloud provider for Frontier, OpenAI’s enterprise platform for building AI agents.
The report said Microsoft believes the arrangement may conflict with its agreement with OpenAI, which grants its Microsoft Azure platform exclusive access to host OpenAI’s models.
Sources cited in the report said Microsoft executives view the AWS deal as potentially violating the spirit, if not the letter, of their partnership.
“We know our contract. We will sue them if they breach it,” a person familiar with Microsoft’s position was quoted as saying.
The companies are reportedly in discussions to resolve the dispute ahead of Frontier’s launch.
Microsoft, an early investor in OpenAI, has committed billions of dollars to the company and maintains licensing rights to its models. A joint statement issued previously by both firms reaffirmed Azure as the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI technologies.
Reuters said it could not independently verify the report, and the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
