Class Action Accuses Microsoft of Restricting AI Supply to Inflate ChatGPT Pricing

A new class-action lawsuit filed in San Francisco accuses Microsoft of using its 2019 exclusive Azure cloud agreement to throttle OpenAI’s access to compute resources, allegedly inflating ChatGPT costs and slowing innovation.

The plaintiffs argue that by choking compute access while simultaneously developing competing AI products, Microsoft gained an unfair advantage over its competitor. The suit points to a sharp drop in ChatGPT token prices—by about 80%—after OpenAI began sourcing compute from Google in June 2025, claiming that the relief in supply revealed the impact of Microsoft’s prior constraints. It seeks damages, removal of restrictive contract terms, and transparency into internal communications around compute access and pricing.

Clever Robot News Desk 15^th October 2025