Following OpenAI’s recent decision to restrict access to its platform in China, a new report has emerged suggesting that Chinese users can still access OpenAI’s products through Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform. The close partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI has allowed Chinese customers to utilize OpenAI’s conversational AI models, despite the initial restrictions imposed by OpenAI.
The Information, the publication behind this report, revealed that multiple Chinese customers have confirmed their ability to use OpenAI’s conversational AI models through Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform. This access enables enterprise customers in China to leverage OpenAI’s technologies and develop their own products by utilizing the AI models available through Azure’s OpenAI service.
Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service offers users the opportunity to integrate data, run custom queries, and utilize artificial intelligence language and image models. Alongside OpenAI, Microsoft also provides products from Meta (formerly Facebook) as part of its diverse AI portfolio on the Azure platform, allowing for customizable AI solutions.
Despite OpenAI’s announcement of restricting Chinese users from its API, Microsoft has continued to offer Azure OpenAI services to users in Hong Kong. Reports suggest that Microsoft retains a significant portion of OpenAI’s profits until the latter can repay its investors’ substantial investment. Additionally, Chinese residents are unable to access OpenAI’s popular chatbot service, ChatGPT, due to government restrictions aimed at controlling access to certain information sources.
As Chinese authorities aim to bolster the local AI industry by approving numerous large language models, the limitations imposed by the US on chip restrictions present challenges for Chinese companies to effectively train these models. The processing power required for models like ChatGPT relies on cutting-edge technology, with NVIDIA’s market dominance in AI performance playing a significant role in meeting these demands.
