Microsoft to expand ChatGPT access as OpenAI investment rumors swirl

According to Microsoft Corp, it is broadening access to OpenAI’s highly popular ChatGPT chatbot, which has captured Silicon Valley’s attention.

The company’s technology has been available to its cloud-computing customers in a program it calls Azure OpenAI Service, and it’s now generally available, which should bring a flurry of new users.

Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month that Microsoft had considered increasing its $1 billion stake in OpenAI. Microsoft declined to comment on any potential deal earlier this month when Semafor reported that the company could invest $10 billion.

The release of ChatGPT in November arouses public interest in OpenAI, a text-based chatbot capable of drafting prose, poetry, and even code. Microsoft is letting more customers apply for access to ChatGPT, which is powered by generative AI, which conjures new content based on vast amounts of data.

This is not just about the underlying tech, but also about ChatGPT itself, Microsoft announced in a blog post.

According to Microsoft, it vets customers’ applications for potential abuse of its product and its filters filter for potentially harmful content created by users or by tech.

Startups producing such software have attracted massive venture capital investment at a time when funding has dried up.

It has already been used by some companies to create marketing content or to demonstrate how it could negotiate a cable bill.

A number of companies are using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service, including CarMax, KPMG, and others. A vice president at Al Jazeera said the news organization could utilize the service to summarize and translate content.