Microsoft Makes Big AI Inroads in China by Selling OpenAI Models

Microsoft Corp. has built a big business selling AI models to Chinese companies despite the growing rivalry between the US and China over artificial intelligence.

Social media and AI giant ByteDance Ltd. has generally been Microsoft’s biggest AI customer in recent years, largely using OpenAI models, according to people familiar with the matter. The Beijing-based company is on track to spend more than $1 billion a year on Microsoft AI and cloud services, said some of the people, who requested anonymity to discuss a private matter.

Other Chinese tech firms, such as Ant Group Co., Meituan and Tencent Holdings ...