Data access partnership benefits Microsoft more than OpenAI in creating moats.
LLMs can create human-like sentences, but to create value via text, the content of the text matters. Access to datasets is the main value. OpenAI has smartly chosen to work with Microsoft to allow their LLM to work on top of any dataset that Microsoft stores. This collaboration creates a moat, but this moat is more for Microsoft than for OpenAI. Enterprise private data is king, and allowing BYOD (bring your own data) is one of OpenAI’s five key strategies.
— How OpenAI Can Secure Its Investments - A Playbook That Needs Microsoft · Forbes