Microsoft sells OpenAI models in China as ByteDance tops $1 billion
Why it matters: The business expands US AI reach in China even as OpenAI and Anthropic avoid direct sales there.
Microsoft has built a sizable business selling AI models in China, with ByteDance emerging as its biggest customer and on track to spend more than $1 billion a year on Microsoft AI and cloud services. Bloomberg reported that Ant Group, Meituan and Tencent Holdings are also major buyers through Azure. The sales highlight Microsoft’s unusual position in China: it can offer OpenAI’s GPT models through its cloud platform even as US concerns over China’s AI ambitions grow and OpenAI and Anthropic do not sell their models directly to Chinese companies. An internal 2025 sales meeting cited by Bloomberg showed Azure AI revenue in China tripled in the fiscal year ended June 2025 after a 400% jump the prior year.