'A secret agreement': Microsoft urges judge to throw out claims it colluded with OpenAI to boost ChatGPT prices could this be the needle to pop the AI bubble?
Date:
Mon, 13 Apr 2026 23:30:00 +0000
Description:
Microsoft seeks to throw out lawsuit from ChatGPT Plus subscribers alleging its agreement with OpenAI led to inflated prices.
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now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Microsoft seeks dismissal of lawsuit alleging Azure exclusivity inflated ChatGPT subscription pricing Judge questions arbitration claims tied to OpenAI agreements and Microsoft legal arguments Subscribers argue compute supply restrictions limited output and increased service costs A group of ChatGPT Plus subscribers is facing pushback in court after Microsoft asked a federal judge to dismiss their antitrust lawsuit, arguing the claims depend on speculation rather than direct proof of harm.
The case ( a PDF of the complaint can be downloaded here ) focuses on allegations that cooperation between Microsoft and OpenAI led to higher
prices and weaker service quality. Microsoft told the court the lawsuit
should be dismissed because subscribers bought services from OpenAI, not from Microsoft itself. This separation, it argued, means the plaintiffs cannot
show the kind of direct injury required under antitrust law. Article
continues below You may like OpenAI is planning a $100 ChatGPT Pro Lite tier The 'cancel ChatGPT' trend is growing after OpenAI's US military deal Anthropics Super Bowl ad trolled OpenAI and Sam Altman is fuming In arbitration not federal court If the judge decides the case should continue, Microsoft said the dispute belongs in arbitration rather than federal court. Its outside counsel Julia Chapman argued that users accepted arbitration
terms when signing up for ChatGPT, and those same terms should extend to claims tied closely to the service.
Equitable estoppel exists to prevent the plaintiffs from doing just that, Chapman said.
Plaintiffs attorneys disagreed, arguing that subscribers never agreed to resolve disputes with Microsoft through arbitration.
Their attorney Briane Dunne told the court that extending arbitration protections to a company outside the original agreement goes beyond what the doctrine allows. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners
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Judge P. Casey Pitts raised doubts about the arbitration argument during the hearing. He indicated there could be connections between the agreements but questioned whether OpenAIs terms should control claims brought against Microsoft.
There may be some overlap, Pitts said, but its unclear to me why Im going to have to think about the agreement with OpenAI.
The dispute centers on claims that Microsoft required OpenAI to rely exclusively on its Azure systems to supply the computing resources needed to run ChatGPT. What to read next OpenAI reportedly building a GitHub
alternative after saying Microsoft-owned platform is 'not yet meeting our expectations' QuitGPT challenges OpenAI with a subscription revolt The true cost of running ChatGPT adds up faster than you think
Plaintiffs argue that relying on a single supplier limited output and contributed to higher costs and slower service improvements.
Microsoft rejected those claims, saying subscription prices are set by OpenAI alone and not by Microsoft.
Its legal team also argued that the alleged agreement concerns cloud infrastructure services, while the plaintiffs claim harm in the consumer AI market, creating a gap that could weaken the antitrust case.
This is not a horizontal per se illegal agreement, Cohen said. That is
crystal clear from the law.
Judge Pitts did not signal how he plans to rule, leaving both dismissal and arbitration requests unresolved for now.
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