Microsoft and OpenAI broke up — now they’re ready to fight

Key points

• At Microsoft’s annual Build conference on Tuesday, the company announced a slew of new or expanded AI initiatives, including a super app, in-house reasoning models, a cybersecurity tool, and OpenClaw-esque AI agents.
• All this news added up to a clear message: Microsoft is positioned to be one of the biggest players in AI, and it’s finally acting like it.
• For years, Microsoft’s AI business leaned hard on its early and exclusive partnership with OpenAI.
• But the drama-filled marriage slowly devolved into a situationship, and the pair effectively separated in late April (though Microsoft is still OpenAI’s primary cloud partner — for now).
• This year’s Build had the vibe of a freshly single divorcée posting a thirst trap on Instagram.