Microsoft announced on Monday that Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, has joined the company as the new head of its AI division. Altman will report directly to Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella and will oversee the development and deployment of AI products and services across Microsoft’s platforms and businesses.
Altman’s appointment comes after a tumultuous period at OpenAI, the research organization he co-founded in 2015 with a vision of creating artificial intelligence that can benefit humanity without causing harm or being influenced by corporate or political agendas. OpenAI has been behind some of the most impressive and controversial AI breakthroughs in recent years, such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Codex.
However, in the past few months, OpenAI has faced internal conflicts, public criticism, and legal disputes over its governance, culture, and direction. Altman was ousted from his role as CEO in October after a board vote that he claimed was influenced by Microsoft, the biggest investor in OpenAI. He was replaced by Ilya Sutskever, one of the co-founders and chief scientists of OpenAI.
Altman accused Microsoft of trying to take over OpenAI and steer it away from its original mission of creating and sharing general artificial intelligence that can surpass human capabilities. He also alleged that Microsoft was blocking OpenAI from collaborating with other companies and researchers and that it was pressuring OpenAI to adopt its Azure cloud platform as the exclusive infrastructure for its AI models.
Microsoft and OpenAI extend partnership
Microsoft, on the other hand, has maintained a neutral stance amidst the drama at OpenAI. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has made it clear that the company respects OpenAI’s independence and autonomy, and that it supports its vision of creating ethical and beneficial AI for everyone. He also said that Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI is based on mutual trust and collaboration and that it aims to accelerate AI innovation and democratize AI access.
Microsoft and OpenAI have been partners since 2019 when Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI to help it build and run its AI supercomputing systems on Azure. In 2021, Microsoft and OpenAI announced the second phase of their partnership, which included the launch of Azure OpenAI Service, a cloud service that allows developers to access OpenAI’s models and tools through Azure’s AI infrastructure and capabilities.
In January 2023, Microsoft and OpenAI extended their partnership for the third time, with a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment from Microsoft to further develop and deploy specialized supercomputing systems for OpenAI’s research and products. Microsoft also announced that it will integrate OpenAI’s models across its consumer and enterprise products, such as GitHub Copilot, Bing, and Cortana.
Sam Altman’s vision for Microsoft’s AI future
In his first public statement as the new head of Microsoft’s AI division, Altman expressed his excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to work with Microsoft and Nadella. He said that he shares Microsoft’s values and goals and that he is looking forward to leading Microsoft’s AI efforts and creating advanced AI that benefits everyone.
Altman also said that he will continue to support OpenAI’s research and work and that he hopes to maintain a good relationship with his former colleagues and friends at OpenAI. He said that he believes that OpenAI and Microsoft can work together to achieve their common vision of creating general artificial intelligence that can surpass human intelligence and solve the world’s most pressing problems.
Altman’s vision for Microsoft’s AI future is ambitious and bold. He said that he wants to make Microsoft the leader in AI innovation and adoption and that he wants to create new AI-powered experiences and products that can transform every industry and domain. He also said that he wants to make AI more accessible and inclusive and that he wants to ensure that AI is developed and used responsibly and ethically.
Altman’s arrival at Microsoft is expected to bring a new wave of AI enthusiasm and excitement to the company and the AI community. However, it also raises some questions and challenges, such as how Altman will balance his loyalty and commitment to both Microsoft and OpenAI, how he will handle the potential conflicts and competition between the two organizations, and how he will deal with the legal and regulatory issues that may arise from his move.
