Microsoft made its first investment in Sam Altman's OpenAI in 2019. It now holds a 27% in OpenAI's for-profit business.

Microsoft and OpenAI announced a restructuring deal on Tuesday that frees the ChatGPT maker to move away from its nonprofit roots and likely go public so it can finance CEO Sam Altman's ambitious plans to develop data centers and cutting-edge technology.

OpenAI established a for-profit arm valued at $500 billion Tuesday, doing so through a long-anticipated corporate restructure that provides Microsoft with a large stake in the new company as it looks to expand on its rapidly expanding artificial intelligence offerings.

Microsoft lifted a funding restriction on OpenAI that became a point of conflict after ChatGPT took off required more computing power.

Microsoft and OpenAI announced the long-awaited details of their new partnership agreement Tuesday morning — with concessions on both sides that keep the companies aligned but not in lockstep as they move into their next phases of AI development.

Under the new pact, Microsoft will get a 27% ownership stake in OpenAI worth about $135 billion, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. In addition, Microsoft will have access to the artificial intelligence startup’s technology until 2032, including models that achieved the benchmark of AI general intelligence.

In the new agreement, Microsoft gets a 27% stake in OpenAI's for-profit business, the OpenAI Group PBC, worth around $135 billion.

Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, even described the new product in those terms in the announcement. “Copilot Mode in Edge is evolving into an AI browser that is your dynamic, intelligent companion,