Deal explainer
Axel Springer and OpenAI's landmark publisher deal
Quick answer
In December 2023, Axel Springer, owner of Politico, Business Insider, Bild and Welt, signed a multiyear deal letting OpenAI use its journalism to train models and summarize articles in ChatGPT. Bloomberg reported OpenAI would pay Axel Springer tens of millions of dollars, though the companies did not confirm exact terms.
What was reported#
- Announced December 13, 2023, the deal covers content from Politico, Business Insider, Bild and Welt.
- ChatGPT users receive summaries of Axel Springer content, including some paywalled articles, with attribution and links back to the source.
- Bloomberg reported OpenAI agreed to pay Axel Springer tens of millions of dollars for the content.
- The partnership also lets Axel Springer's AI-driven ventures build on OpenAI's underlying technology.
- Reuters described it as the first deal of its kind between a major global publisher and an AI company.
Related deals
SourceX was not a party to these deals. This tracker summarizes public reporting so businesses can see how AI data licensing is developing.
Sources
Public sources, checked 2026-10-09. SourceX is not affiliated with the organizations named.
- OpenAI: Partnership with Axel Springer to deepen beneficial use of AI in journalism openai.com
- Reuters: Global news publisher Axel Springer partners with OpenAI in landmark deal reuters.com
- Bloomberg: OpenAI to Pay Axel Springer Tens of Millions to Use News Content bloomberg.com
See if your company qualifies
A short company assessment. No data uploads are needed.