Microsoft scales up infrastructure to support OpenAI’s next-gen AI models, preparing for GPT-4.5’s imminent launch and GPT-5’s anticipated spring debut.
Microsoft is making big moves to support the next generation of OpenAI’s artificial intelligence models. The tech giant is scaling up its infrastructure, getting ready for the arrival of GPT-4.5, which could launch as soon as next week, and GPT-5, which is expected in late May.
The push comes as OpenAI’s AI models continue to gain traction, with ChatGPT now boasting 400 million weekly active users—a massive 33% jump in just three months. OpenAI’s valuation has also soared, reportedly hitting $340 billion as demand for more advanced AI tools skyrockets.
What’s Changing?
Microsoft is already a key player in OpenAI’s ecosystem, providing cloud infrastructure via Azure. Now, its engineers are working behind the scenes to expand server capacity, ensuring that both GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 have the computing power they need to operate at scale.
While OpenAI has been tight-lipped about GPT-4.5, CEO Sam Altman recently hinted that this will be the last model without chain-of-thought reasoning, a feature expected to enhance AI’s logical thinking. Internally, GPT-4.5 is being called "Orion," and it’s been trained using synthetic data—a method meant to tackle the problem of data scarcity.
As for GPT-5, it’s shaping up to be a major leap forward. Altman described it as “a system that integrates a lot of our technology, including o3,” referring to OpenAI’s latest reasoning model. Altman signaled a move towards simplifying OpenAI’s lineup while improving usability.
"We want AI to 'just work' for you; we realize how complicated our model and product offerings have gotten."
Microsoft’s AI Bet: Strengthening Its Position
The timing of Microsoft's capacity boost isn’t surprising. The company remains OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider, even as OpenAI explores partnerships with Oracle and SoftBank under the massive $500 billion "Stargate" project aimed at building advanced AI data centers.
While OpenAI is branching out, Microsoft still holds a dominant role, having invested billions into OpenAI while tightly integrating ChatGPT into its products, from Microsoft 365 to Windows Copilot.
That being said, OpenAI isn’t the only AI game in town. New competitors like DeepSeek and Anthropic are making aggressive strides, pushing the AI race forward. Microsoft’s latest infrastructure push signals that it’s not backing down anytime soon.
With GPT-4.5 potentially landing in just days and GPT-5 coming this spring, the AI landscape is about to get even more competitive. And Microsoft? It’s making sure it has the muscle to stay ahead.
