多年来，微软与 OpenAI 的合作关系中包含一项奇怪的条款，规定一旦实现 AGI，微软对 OpenAI 技术的商业知识产权将失效。该条款似乎于今天终止。我决定尝试追踪该条款在 openai.com 上随时间变化的表述。
OpenAI，2019 年 7 月 22 日，在《微软投资并合作 OpenAI，支持我们构建有益的 AGI》（强调为我所加）一文中：
OpenAI 正在开发一系列日益强大的 AI 技术，这需要大量资金用于算力。最明显的成本回收方式是构建产品，但这意味着改变我们的重心。因此，我们计划授权部分 AGI 前技术，并选择微软作为我们将其商业化的首选合作伙伴。
但什么是 AGI？OpenAI 章程于 2018 年 4 月首次发布，且至少自 2019 年 3 月 11 日（archive.org 存档日期）以来未作修改：
OpenAI 的使命是确保通用人工智能（AGI）——我们指的是在大多数具有经济价值的工作上超越人类的高度自主系统——惠及全人类。
问题在于：如果你要与微软签署一份依赖于判断“AGI”何时实现的协议，你需要一些更具体的东西。
2024 年 12 月，The Information 报道了相关细节（TechCrunch 在其付费墙外总结了这些内容）：
微软与 OpenAI 去年签署的、尚未公开的协议规定，只有当 OpenAI 开发的系统能够产生其最早投资者（包括微软）有权获得的最高总利润时，才算实现 AGI。这是根据 OpenAI 分发给投资者的文件得出的结论。文件显示，这些利润总计约 1000 亿美元。
所以，AGI 现在是指 OpenAI 的系统能够产生 1000 亿美元利润的时候？
2025 年 10 月，判定流程改为由“独立专家小组”进行评估。在《微软与 OpenAI 合作关系的新篇章》一文中：
该协议保留了促成这一成功合作的关键要素——这意味着 OpenAI 仍将是微软的前沿模型合作伙伴，而微软在通用人工智能（AGI）到来之前，将继续拥有独家知识产权和 Azure API 独家使用权。[……]
一旦 OpenAI 宣布实现 AGI，该声明将由一个独立的专家小组进行验证。[……]
微软对研究成果（定义为模型和系统开发中使用的保密方法）的知识产权将一直保留，直到专家小组验证 AGI 实现，或到 2030 年为止，以先到者为准。
OpenAI 于 2026 年 2 月 27 日在 OpenAI 与微软的联合声明中表示：
AGI 的定义和流程保持不变。AGI 的合同定义以及判定其是否实现的过程均与之前相同。
OpenAI 于 2026 年 4 月 27 日在《微软与 OpenAI 合作伙伴关系的下一阶段》一文中表示（强调为原文所加）：
- 微软将继续拥有 OpenAI 模型和产品知识产权的许可，有效期至 2032 年。微软的许可将变为非独家。
- 微软将不再向 OpenAI 支付收入分成。
- OpenAI 向微软支付的收入分成将持续到 2030 年，该分成与 OpenAI 的技术进展无关，分成比例不变，但设有总上限。
据我所知，“与 OpenAI 的技术进展无关”这一表述，意味着 AGI 条款现已失效。The Verge 也得出了相同的结论：AGI 条款已死。
关于 OpenAI 对待 AGI 的方式，我始终最喜欢马特·莱文（Matt Levine）在 2023 年提出的这个假设情景：
投资者们哀嚎痛哭，但事实确实如此，这就是他们当初同意的条款，他们没有任何法律追索权。而 OpenAI 的新任 CEO 及其非营利董事会，给他们开了一张金额上限为约定回报的支票，说了声“再见”，便回去继续为了人类福祉运营 OpenAI。事实证明，一个良性的、治理得当的人工超级智能对人类极为有益，OpenAI 迅速解决了人类的所有问题，开创了一个和平富足的时代，在这个时代里，人们无所需求，也不再需要任何微软产品。于是，资本主义走到了尽头。
2026 年 4 月 27 日
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本文由 Simon Willison 撰写，发布于2026年4月27日，追踪现已失效的 OpenAI 微软 AGI 条款的历史。
计算机历史
微软
For many years, Microsoft and OpenAI’s relationship has included a weird clause saying that, should AGI be achieved, Microsoft’s commercial IP rights to OpenAI’s technology would be null and void. That clause appeared to end today. I decided to try and track its expression over time on openai.com.
OpenAI, July 22nd 2019 in Microsoft invests in and partners with OpenAI to support us building beneficial AGI (emphasis mine):
OpenAI is producing a sequence of increasingly powerful AI technologies, which requires a lot of capital for computational power. The most obvious way to cover costs is to build a product, but that would mean changing our focus. Instead, we intend to license some of our pre-AGI technologies, with Microsoft becoming our preferred partner for commercializing them.
But what is AGI? The OpenAI Charter was first published in April 2018 and has remained unchanged at least since this March 11th 2019 archive.org capture:
OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI)—by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work—benefits all of humanity.
Here’s the problem: if you’re going to sign an agreement with Microsoft that is dependent on knowing when “AGI” has been achieved, you need something a little more concrete.
In December 2024 The Information reported the details (summarized here outside of their paywall by TechCrunch):
Last year’s agreement between Microsoft and OpenAI, which hasn’t been disclosed, said AGI would be achieved only when OpenAI has developed systems that have the ability to generate the maximum total profits to which its earliest investors, including Microsoft, are entitled, according to documents OpenAI distributed to investors. Those profits total about $100 billion, the documents showed.
So AGI is now whenever OpenAI’s systems are capable of generating $100 billion in profit?
In October 2025 the process changed to being judged by an “independent expert panel”. In The next chapter of the Microsoft–OpenAI partnership:
The agreement preserves key elements that have fueled this successful partnership—meaning OpenAI remains Microsoft’s frontier model partner and Microsoft continues to have exclusive IP rights and Azure API exclusivity until Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). [...]
Once AGI is declared by OpenAI, that declaration will now be verified by an independent expert panel. [...]
Microsoft’s IP rights to research, defined as the confidential methods used in the development of models and systems, will remain until either the expert panel verifies AGI or through 2030, whichever is first.
OpenAI on February 27th, 2026 in Joint Statement from OpenAI and Microsoft:
AGI definition and processes are unchanged. The contractual definition of AGI and the process for determining if it has been achieved remains the same.
OpenAI today, April 27th 2026 in The next phase of the Microsoft OpenAI partnership (emphasis mine):
- Microsoft will continue to have a license to OpenAI IP for models and products through 2032. Microsoft’s license will now be non-exclusive.
- Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI.
- Revenue share payments from OpenAI to Microsoft continue through 2030, independent of OpenAI’s technology progress, at the same percentage but subject to a total cap.
As far as I can tell “independent of OpenAI’s technology progress” is a declaration that the AGI clause is now dead. Here’s The Verge coming to the same conclusion: The AGI clause is dead.
My all-time favorite commentary on OpenAI’s approach to AGI remains this 2023 hypothetical by Matt Levine:
And the investors wailed and gnashed their teeth but it’s true, that is what they agreed to, and they had no legal recourse. And OpenAI’s new CEO, and its nonprofit board, cut them a check for their capped return and said “bye” and went back to running OpenAI for the benefit of humanity. It turned out that a benign, carefully governed artificial superintelligence is really good for humanity, and OpenAI quickly solved all of humanity’s problems and ushered in an age of peace and abundance in which nobody wanted for anything or needed any Microsoft products. And capitalism came to an end.
27th April 2026
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This is Tracking the history of the now-deceased OpenAI Microsoft AGI clause by Simon Willison, posted on 27th April 2026.
computer-history
microsoft