Google Requests Breakup of Microsoft's OpenAI Hosting Agreement

(Reuters) – Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has asked the U.S. government to break up Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s exclusive agreement to host OpenAI's technology on its cloud servers, according to a report from the Information on Tuesday.

The discussions began after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) inquired about Microsoft's business practices amid a broader investigation, as reported by sources directly involved in the discussions.

Tech competitors like Google and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) have expressed interest in hosting OpenAI's models to prevent their cloud customers from relying solely on Microsoft servers for accessing the startup's technology.

The report suggests that customers purchasing OpenAI's technology through Microsoft could incur additional fees if they do not utilize Microsoft servers for their operations.

Google and other competitors argue that these additional costs would negatively impact customers, as highlighted in the report.

Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and the FTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.