• by Laurie Sullivan , August 8, 2025

It's become a race to develop super AI capabilities and ad agents, so when Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella responded to a post from Elon Musk on X claiming that OpenAI will “eat Microsoft alive,” it caught the attention of the entire AI and technology industry. 

The warning, which followed Microsoft’s announcement of the full integration of OpenAI’s latest AI model, GPT-5, across its apps and services, suggests that despite a strong partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft, technology could eventually pose a significant competitive threat to the Redmond, Washington tech giant. 

“People have been trying for 50 years and that’s the fun of it!” Nadella wrote on X. “Each day you learn something new, and innovate, partner, and compete. Excited for Grok 4 on Azure and looking forward to Grok 5!”

Commenters on the X thread tried to determine what Musk meant. One couldn’t stop thinking about GPT-5 for those running Microsoft 365 behind the scenes.

George Smith, an author and entrepreneur, immediately caught the innuendo.

“I think some of you are misinterpreting Elon's statement,” Smith wrote on X. “I believe it's intended to be a friendly warning to Microsoft that the OpenAI partnership only benefits one party -and it's not Microsoft.”

Nadella’s announcement on X touted the launch of GPT-5 across Microsoft’s platforms, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot, GitHub Copilot, and Azure AI Foundry.

Musk’s comments seemed to highlight underlying tension in OpenAI’s and Microsoft’s partnerships, but it could have been self-serving based on the tensions he experienced with Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO and co-founder. Or, it could reflect broader industry concerns about AI partnerships.

Altman and Musk have been involved in a public and legal feud, primarily stemming from disagreements about the direction and future of the company, OpenAI, they founded together. 

Microsoft invested close to $14 billion in OpenAI over the years. In exchange for these investments, Microsoft holds a reported 49% share of OpenAI's profits, after early investors are repaid, according to one report.