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News

Microsoft – OpenAI amended agreement signals a sharp turn in one of tech’s most-watched corporate partnerships. Microsoft confirmed the new terms on Monday, days before its quarterly earnings report. Under the prior deal, Microsoft held exclusive rights to OpenAI’s models until the company reached artificial general intelligence. The new contract removes that trigger and replaces it with a fixed 2032 license expiration date.

Sam Altman and Satya Nadella reportedly negotiated the changes themselves over recent weeks. Their goal was to bring clarity to a relationship that grew tangled as OpenAI courted Microsoft’s rivals. Microsoft OpenAI exclusivity ends with this restructuring, opening the door for AWS, Google Cloud, and Oracle. From my standpoint, this shift reflects OpenAI’s growing leverage and its push for multi-cloud freedom.

What the new deal changes for cloud rivals

Microsoft – OpenAI partnership restructured terms now allow OpenAI to serve products on competing cloud platforms. Azure remains the primary cloud partner, and OpenAI products still ship there first under most conditions. Yet OpenAI can offer its full catalog through any provider it chooses going forward. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy welcomed the news, confirming OpenAI models will reach AWS Bedrock within weeks.

You should note that Microsoft shares fell roughly 3% after the announcement on Monday. Amazon and Alphabet stock posted small gains as investors priced in a fresh competitive opportunity. The shift comes after OpenAI signed a $38 billion AWS deal last November. OpenAI later expanded that commitment by another $100 billion across eight years.

Microsoft – OpenAI amended agreement rewrites the money flow

The financial structure also changed in important ways for both sides of the table. Microsoft will no longer pay OpenAI a revenue share on AI model sales through Azure. OpenAI continues paying Microsoft a 20% revenue share, capped and ending in 2030. Microsoft loses OpenAI’s exclusive access in trade for cleaner terms and reduced legal risk.

Microsoft keeps its 27% stake in OpenAI, valued at roughly $135 billion last October. The OpenAI – Microsoft revenue-sharing deal now runs on a fixed schedule rather than open-ended triggers. Both companies framed the update around flexibility, certainty, and broader AI adoption across markets. As I see it, the deal trades short-term advantage for long-term predictability and cleaner governance.

Why investors are watching closely

The Microsoft OpenAI amended agreement also removes the controversial AGI clause from the contract. The original provision gave OpenAI’s board power to declare AGI and shift the partnership terms. Investors viewed this as a structural risk hanging over Microsoft’s $13 billion cumulative investment. Removing it brings predictability to a contract once tied to a vague technical milestone.

Enterprise buyers benefit most from this change because they gain real choice across clouds and models. Microsoft now competes for OpenAI workloads rather than owning them by default. The Microsoft – OpenAI amended agreement reshapes the cloud market for the next six years.

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Central Bank of UAE develops e-KYC platform

ABU DHABI, 15th April, 2026 (WAM) — The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) announced the development of the nationwide unified Know Your Customer (eKYC) platform, following the signing of a technical partnership agreement with the global technology company Norbloc AB.

This strategic initiative constitutes a core pillar of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Programme, which aims to build an integrated financial ecosystem that enhances operational efficiency. It also reflects the CBUAE’s commitment to modernising regulatory frameworks and adopting advanced digital solutions.

The platform will address challenges arising from the duplication of customer due diligence processes, reduce compliance costs, and strengthen financial stability and competitiveness, further reinforcing the UAE’s leadership in the global digital financial landscape.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, and Ahmed Saeed Al Qamzi, Assistant Governor for Banking and Insurance Supervision at the CBUAE.

The agreement was signed by Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services at the CBUAE, and Astyanax Kanakakis, Chief Executive Officer of Norbloc AB, in the presence of senior officials from both sides.

The new platform will enhance the efficiency of “Know Your Customer” and “Know Your Business” (KYC/KYB) processes, as well as due diligence requirements through automated workflows and the integration of trusted data sources. This will strengthen compliance and ensure alignment with anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks.

Underpinned by a robust privacy by design technology, the platform enables secure data sharing strictly based on explicit customer consent, ensuring the highest standards of confidentiality, data protection, and trust across the financial system.

It introduces a unified national approach that supports both financial institutions and fintech companies, delivering a faster and more reliable digital onboarding experience for individuals and businesses, while substantially reducing turnaround times and operational costs.

This project represents a key milestone in the digital transformation of the UAE’s financial sector. Future phases will focus on expanding the platform’s capabilities and deepening its integration with relevant stakeholders, supporting the development of an advanced and sustainable digital financial ecosystem.

The initiative underscores the CBUAE’s commitment to leveraging advanced technologies to enhance governance, deliver customer-centric financial services, support ease of doing business, and further cement the UAE’s position as a hub for innovative digital regulatory infrastructure.

“The development of the e-KYC Platform represents a strategic transformation towards a more efficient and resilient financial ecosystem,” said Al Dhaheri. “Through this platform, we are enabling the sector to move away from resource-intensive traditional processes towards progressive digital models that accelerate access to financial services and reduce operational costs.”

He added that CBUAE aims to enhance efficiency and establish a financial environment characterised by transparency and the protection of customer privacy, in a way that reinforces the UAE’s competitiveness as a leading global financial centre.

Kanakakis stated, “By leveraging advanced technologies, we will enable financial institutions to access trusted and secure data in real time from multiple sources, enhancing operational efficiency while adhering to the highest international standards. It also empowers users with full control over the management of access to their data.”

BRIDGE Alliance announces November 28 as launch date for second edition of BRIDGE Summit on Yas Island for five days

ABU DHABI, 13th April, 2026 (WAM) — The BRIDGE Alliance announced that the second edition of the BRIDGE Summit will be held from 28th November to 2nd December 2026, relocating its venue to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi in partnership with Miral Group, with the summit extended to five days, Emirates News Agency mentioned today.

This was announced during the Board of Directors meeting of the BRIDGE Alliance, chaired by Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed. The Board reviewed the outcomes of the first edition and the position it established for the summit as the largest global platform bringing together leaders and elite figures from the media, content, cultural, and creative industries across all their components, alongside decision-makers and investors, within a unified platform that enables more effective and integrated opportunities and partnerships worldwide.

The meeting addressed a wide range of topics related to planning for the BRIDGE 2026 Summit, which will witness a qualitative transformation in its structure and mechanisms. This includes transitioning from an annual event model to a year-round sustainable platform based on specialised tracks that address challenges facing the media sector, expanding partnerships, and launching practical initiatives that support responsible innovation—thereby establishing BRIDGE as a global reference for credibility and professional collaboration.

Abdullah Al Hamed affirmed, during his speech at the alliance’s third meeting, that the upcoming BRIDGE 2026 Summit will not be a mere continuation of previous editions, but rather a qualitative leap on three levels. The summit will move to Yas Island, offering a larger space that reflects the expansion of its agenda and ambitions; it will extend to five days instead of three, allowing innovation more time to flourish; and its content will focus on the creative economy, information integrity, and empowering future generations to shape a media landscape that not only conveys news but creates opportunities.

He emphasised that the goal is to transition from momentum to institutionalisation, from dialogue to execution, and from gathering voices to unifying efforts. He noted that BRIDGE serves as a bridge that brings together geopolitical contrasts at one table and unifies global ambitions under one roof.

The Chairman of the Alliance highlighted that the next phase of BRIDGE represents a decisive shift from the logic of an event to that of a system, and from seasonal activity to a long-term institutional project that redefines the role of media within the equation of development, economy, and knowledge.

For his part, Dr. Jamal Al Kaabi, Vice Chairman of the BRIDGE Alliance, affirmed that the new updates to the BRIDGE Summit reflect the UAE’s transition from supporting the media, content, and entertainment economy to engineering its operational platforms. He noted that BRIDGE represents one of the most significant practical models in this sector, and that the second edition will focus on deepening the quality of professional engagement through structured mechanisms that connect investors, producers, media and technology platforms, content creators, and innovators within a unified platform that facilitates the development of business models, co-production, and expanded access to regional and global markets.

The meeting witnessed in-depth discussions among alliance members, who contributed rich ideas and perspectives, reflecting a shared understanding that the second edition of the BRIDGE Summit carries greater responsibility than the first. The focus is no longer on proving the concept, but on amplifying its impact and transforming the momentum generated by the first edition into a deeply rooted institutional path capable of withstanding the test of time.

Discussions emphasised the importance of ensuring that the upcoming summit serves as a platform for decision-making, not merely dialogue, and that it delivers measurable and actionable outcomes reflecting the true weight of the institutions under the alliance.

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