Microsoft and SpaceX's Starlink partner on global community internet effort

In this articleMicrosoft on Tuesday announced a collaboration with SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service to expand connectivity across the world.It's a sign of the software company's willingness to collaborate with Tesla CEO Elon Musk's family of businesses, as the world's richest person takes Microsoft partner OpenAI to court. "Through our collaboration with Starlink, Microsoft is combining low-Earth orbit satellite connectivity with community-based deployment models and local ecosystem partnerships," Microsoft's chief sustainability officer, Melanie Nakagawa, wrote in a blog post. In alliance with Starlink and an internet service provider in Kenya, Microsoft is working to connect 450 community hubs in the country, Nakagawa wrote.The work will add to demand for Musk's space company, which has contracts with the Department of Defense and NASA and could potentially go public this year.In his case against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Musk is looking to recover as much as $134 billion from the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation, which holds over $100 billion in equity in the for-profit AI lab, according to a January legal filing.Musk cofounded OpenAI in 2015 along with several others, including LinkedIn founder and Microsoft board member Reid Hoffman.Musk has been critical of Microsoft on his social network X and said earlier this month that the company "has a responsibility to investigate" Hoffman's association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Hoffman said that he deeply regretted that he knew Epstein through a fundraising relationship with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Earlier this month, Musk said SpaceX was merging with his xAI startup that developed the Grok AI model and chatbot that has been gaining traction as a platform of choice for tech applications.Last year, Microsoft said its Foundry cloud software for building AI-infused applications added support for Grok models.Microsoft has been working to connect people with technology for many years, including in the U.S.After setting a goal in 2022 to bring the internet to over 250 million people before the end of 2025, it has extended coverage to more than 299 million people, Nakagawa wrote Tuesday.WATCH: Why the U.S. and SpaceX need each otherGot a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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