Sam Altman to Lead Microsoft’s AI Revolution!
After being removed from his startup last week, Sam Altman, the co-founder of OpenAI, has been appointed by Microsoft Corp. to head their new internal artificial intelligence team. This move aims to strengthen Microsoft’s AI strategies and provide reassurance to investors.
Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s board member and co-founder, who also left the company last week, will join Altman, and Microsoft will “move quickly to provide them with the resources they need to succeed,” Satya Nadella, CEO of the Redmond-based company, said on LinkedIn early Monday. In another post on X, formerly Twitter, Nadella said Altman will serve as CEO of the new internal group.
The move, at midnight local time Sunday, was the latest in a dramatic three days between Microsoft and OpenAI, Nadella’s backup plan after his efforts to bring Altman and Brockman back to OpenAI were blocked. OpenAI’s board appointed former Twitch executive Emmett Shear as CEO. Nadella wrote that Microsoft is looking forward to getting to know Shear and working with him.
“We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and are confident in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate in everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in supporting our customers and partners,” Nadella said on LinkedIn.
The Microsoft executive has revamped his company’s entire product line around OpenAI’s technology, investing $13 billion in the startup, making Microsoft by far the largest shareholder with a roughly 49 percent stake.
Still, Microsoft was shocked Friday when it received just minutes of notice that Altman, who has a close relationship with Nadella, had been ousted by the board. The news sent Microsoft shares down amid concerns that the OpenAI upheaval could adversely affect Microsoft’s overall AI strategy. They reversed course and rose as much as 2.7% in premarket trading after Nadella’s announcement.
Microsoft executives were also surprised by Shear’s appointment on Sunday, as they had expected to be able to get OpenAI’s board to back down and allow interim CEO Mira Murat to bring Altman and Brockman back to the company in some capacity. people who know how the company thinks. They asked not to be named after discussing private conversations.
It’s not yet clear who or how many former OpenAI employees may join Microsoft — Nadella said Altman’s and Brockman’s colleagues will follow — nor how Microsoft will balance its continued commitment to OpenAI with its own new AI group led by Altman. Nadella offered LinkedIn and GitHub as examples of Microsoft-owned companies that operate with an “independent identity and culture” and their own CEO.
Microsoft has been working on its own artificial intelligence research for over 20 years. Its move heavily into OpenAI technology and giving the company huge computing resources, in some cases through domestic projects, has caused tensions with those working on artificial intelligence in-house. While some longtime Microsoft AI hands have left the company, moving Altman and Brockman to Microsoft could cause more confusion.
