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Financial Times signs strategic partnership and licensing agreement with OpenAI
OpenAI will use Financial Times content to train its models and to show attributed summaries in ChatGPT, under a non-exclusive licensing deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.
LONDON, April 29, 2024 - OpenAI and the Financial Times announced a strategic partnership and licensing agreement. OpenAI will be able to use FT content to train its AI models and, where appropriate, to display it in generative AI responses from tools such as ChatGPT. Financial terms were not made public.1
Terms of the deal
TechCrunch reported that the pair describe the deal as a "strategic partnership and licensing agreement," which looked somewhat closer than OpenAI's other publisher arrangements. It understood the license to be non-exclusive and said OpenAI is not taking any stake in FT Group. The deal covers the use of FT content for training AI models and, where appropriate, for display in answers produced by ChatGPT.1
The FT also noted that it became a customer of ChatGPT Enterprise earlier in 2024, and said it wanted to explore deeper uses of AI while expressing caution about the reliability of automated outputs and risks to reader trust.1 FT Group chief executive John Ridding was quoted as saying it is right that AI platforms pay publishers for the use of their material.1
Background
The FT agreement followed OpenAI's earlier deals with the Associated Press, Axel Springer, Le Monde and Prisa Media.1 It came a month before News Corp announced its much larger multi-year agreement with OpenAI. The FT later became one of the publishers in Google's News AI pilot, which Google said in October 2026 had grown to more than 400 publications.2
What it means for data sellers
The FT deal illustrates how a seller can structure the relationship in layers: a content license for training and display, plus a separate commercial product relationship. Keeping the license non-exclusive and avoiding equity ties meant the FT could later sign with other AI companies.
Sellers should also note the public stance. The FT said openly that AI platforms should pay for material, and it licensed on those terms. A clear position on payment and attribution gives a seller something to point to when it negotiates with a second or third buyer.
This entry is a news summary. SellYourAIData was not involved in the deal.
How the deal came together
- The FT and OpenAI announced a partnership. On April 29, 2024 the two companies described a strategic partnership and licensing agreement.
- Training and display were both covered. The deal covers OpenAI's use of FT content to train models and, where appropriate, to show it in ChatGPT answers.
- The arrangement was non-exclusive. TechCrunch reported it is non-exclusive and that OpenAI takes no stake in FT Group.
- The FT kept its own AI plans open. The FT said it had become a ChatGPT Enterprise customer earlier in 2024.
Takeaways for companies with data
- A licensing deal can sit alongside a product relationship, as the FT also became an enterprise customer.
- Non-exclusive terms and no equity kept the seller free of entanglement.
- Sellers can say publicly that AI platforms should pay for material while still signing.
Sources
Every numbered reference above points to an entry here. Figures come from these pages as of the date shown at the top of the article. Where a source reports a number it got from unnamed people, the text says so.
- OpenAI inks strategic tie-up with UK's Financial Times, including content use (TechCrunch, April 2024)
- Google now pays 400 publications to feed AI features in Google News (PPC Land, October 2026)
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About the AI Data Deal Tracker
SellYourAIData tracks publicly reported sales and licenses of data to AI companies, with the price, terms and sources for each. Entries are checked against public reporting and updated as deals change. SellYourAIData was not involved in this deal. To ask what your company's data could sell for, get a free valuation. To report a deal, contact us.