Microsoft has taken a significant step into the Chinese market by opening its door to sell OpenAI models to the country's largest internet companies, despite both OpenAI and Anthropic keeping their own models out of the market due to intellectual-property concerns.
The arrangement, detailed in a report by Bloomberg this week, shows that Microsoft is now supplying the technology to Chinese firms such as Tencent and Alibaba Group. This move comes amid heightened tensions between China and Silicon Valley over issues such as data privacy and intellectual property rights.
OpenAI has previously stated that it will not sell its models to any country where they could be used for malicious purposes, sparking controversy in Asia. Meanwhile, Anthropic, a rival AI firm backed by Google, has also refused to sell its technology to China due to concerns about national security and data protection.