AWS just announced OpenAI models are available on Bedrock. Read that again. Amazon—Microsoft’s arch-rival—now sells OpenAI’s models. The same OpenAI that Microsoft invested $13B in. The same OpenAI that was supposed to be Azure-exclusive.
This isn’t just a product announcement. It’s the sound of Microsoft’s AI monopoly shattering into a thousand pieces.
The Brilliant Play: AWS doesn’t need to build GPT-5. They just need to sell GPT-4 cheaper than Azure. And with AWS’s scale, they can.
For Microsoft: The Nightmare Scenario
The $13B Question: What exactly did Microsoft buy?
Answer:
Board seats (non-controlling)
Revenue share (now diluted)
First access (meaningless if others get it too)
Strategic partnership (apparently not exclusive)
The Immediate Market Impact
Pricing War Begins
Azure OpenAI Pricing:
GPT-4: $30/million tokens
GPT-3.5: $2/million tokens
Premium for “exclusivity”
Enterprise minimums
AWS Bedrock Pricing (Estimated):
GPT-4: $21/million tokens (30% less)
GPT-3.5: $1.40/million tokens
Pay-as-you-go
No minimums
Result: Race to zero margins
Enterprise Migration Patterns
Who Moves First: 1. AWS-primary enterprises (70% of market) 2. Cost-conscious startups 3. Multi-cloud architectures 4. Non-US entities (data sovereignty)
Who Stays on Azure: 1. Microsoft-centric enterprises 2. Existing Azure AI commitments 3. Integrated Office 365 users 4. Those valuing support over cost
Strategic Implications by Persona
For Strategic Operators
The Leverage Shift: You just gained massive negotiating power. Microsoft can’t hold you hostage anymore.
AWS offering OpenAI models isn’t just another cloud service launch. It’s the end of the AI cloud monopoly era. When your biggest investor’s biggest competitor becomes your distributor, you know the game has fundamentally changed.
For Microsoft: That $13B investment just became a very expensive lesson in the importance of actual contracts.
For enterprises: Christmas came early. Competition means lower prices, better service, and actual choice.
For OpenAI: Brilliant strategic move. Why be exclusive when you can be essential?
For everyone else: The AI price war just began. Buckle up.
The enterprise AI landscape just went from monopoly to marketplace. And in marketplaces, customers always win.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
