Microsoft employs a two-pronged approach, combining investment with in-house research. In the fiscal year 2026, Microsoft's commercial partnership with OpenAI generated a staggering $24.1 billion in revenue, constituting roughly 70% of its total AI business income. Notably, Microsoft has poured $11.9 billion into OpenAI, reaping an impressive return on investment of around 10 times. Beyond OpenAI, Microsoft has also ventured into AI firms like Anthropic and Mistral. Specifically, its investment in Anthropic yielded $3.2 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026.

The collaborative framework between Microsoft and OpenAI has evolved from an exclusive partnership to a more competitive one, as OpenAI has inked a cooperation pact with Amazon. Amazon, too, has made investments in both OpenAI and Anthropic. The substantial uptick in Amazon's net profit during the second quarter can largely be attributed to its stake in Anthropic, which has pledged to allocate at least $100 billion towards AWS technology over the forthcoming decade.

To mitigate dependence on a singular model, both Microsoft and Amazon have significantly ramped up their AI-related capital outlays and are fervently pursuing the development of their proprietary research models. Notably, Microsoft has unveiled the MAI model family, marking a significant stride in its AI endeavors.