Microsoft Corporation is facing a proposed class action lawsuit filed in San Francisco’s federal court. According to a Reuters report, consumers have accused Microsoft of illegally inflating prices for generative AI services through a secret agreement with OpenAI. The lawsuit alleges that Microsoft leveraged its exclusive cloud computing deal with the ChatGPT developer to restrict access to computational resources necessary for running the AI chatbot. It further claims that the arrangement violated federal antitrust law by restraining competition and driving up subscription costs for ChatGPT users, while negatively affecting product quality.
The lawsuit also contends that although some restrictions on OpenAI have eased, they continue to exist as “a sword of Damocles over OpenAI wielded by one of its principal competitors.” It further accuses Microsoft of exploiting the partnership to benefit from OpenAI’s growth while simultaneously developing its own competing AI tools, including Copilot. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company is reviewing the case and maintains that its partnership with OpenAI supports innovation, competition, and the responsible advancement of AI. Microsoft has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI as part of their continuing collaboration in artificial intelligence research and deployment.
