An Interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and AWS CEO Matt Garman About Bedrock Managed Agents
TLDR
- OpenAI and AWS launched Bedrock Managed Agents, and OpenAI amended its Microsoft deal to allow multi-cloud distribution, ending Azure exclusivity.
Key Takeaways
- Microsoft’s Azure exclusivity on OpenAI models is now lifted; OpenAI can serve all products across any cloud provider, including AWS.
- OpenAI stops receiving Azure revenue share; Microsoft’s license to OpenAI IP runs non-exclusively through 2032.
- Bedrock Managed Agents is described as “Codex in AWS” — agent workflows for enterprises whose data already lives in AWS.
- Matt Garman argues AI adoption speed has outpaced even cloud’s early growth curve; Sam Altman places AI as the fourth major startup platform shift after internet, cloud, and mobile.
- Altman says YC batch revenue benchmarks are shifting month-to-month, citing how fast AI-native startups are scaling.
Why It Matters
- Losing Azure exclusivity weakens Microsoft’s cloud differentiation but protects its OpenAI equity position, which Anthropic’s growth had put under pressure.
- Bedrock Managed Agents targets enterprises already on AWS, directly competing with Amazon’s own AgentCore offering on the same platform.
- The Microsoft-OpenAI deal restructure, timed with the AWS announcement, signals OpenAI is prioritizing distribution breadth over any single cloud partnership.
Stratechery by Ben Thompson · 2026-04-28 · Read the original
