Microsoft on edge with OpenAI’s Sam Altman a free agent

Sam Altman, who brought the AI ​​chatbot ChatGPT to the masses, was abruptly fired as CEO of OpenAI last week and joined Microsoft on Monday.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been praised for hiring OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, who will work alongside Altman and OpenAI’s new CEO Emmett Shea.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said the jockey was a strategic win for Nadella, who is “the adult in the room” and likened it to a “Game of Thrones” storyline. .

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“If Microsoft had lost Mr. Altman, he could have gone to Amazon, Google, Apple, or any of the many other tech companies desperate to touch the face of AI around the world. Instead, he is now safely at Microsoft headquarters leading the company’s major AI efforts.”Many key scientists and developers are expected to leave OpenAI and head directly to Microsoft. ,” Ives wrote in a note to clients on Monday.

Nadella reiterated the company’s commitment to working with OpenAI and touted the new hire in a statement published in X.

“We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and are confident in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and the continued support of our customers and partners. I look forward to getting to know Mr. Emmett Shea.” Working with OAI’s new leadership team.

“And we are thrilled to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman will join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team with their colleagues. We are committed to providing them with the resources they need. “We look forward to moving quickly to deliver ‘success,'” he said.

Microsoft stock rose on Monday, rising more than 54% this year as the company ramped up its efforts in AI and its own cloud business across multiple industries.

Ives now speculates that more OpenAI engineers are likely headed to Microsoft.

500 or more artificial intelligence The company’s approximately 770 employees signed a letter submitted to the board and obtained by FOX Business, threatening to follow Mr. Altman to Microsoft if their demands are not met.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks at a conference at Station F in Paris on May 26, 2023. (Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

“We are more cohesive, committed and focused than ever before. We are all going to work together in some way and I’m so excited. One team, It’s a mission.”

Ives noted that OpenAI’s small board of directors is also feeling the heat as the “circus-like” situation escalates.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reiterated the company’s commitment to working with OpenAI and touted the new hire in a statement published in X. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The four board members are Chief Scientist Ilya Satskever, Quora CEO and Independent Director Adam DiAngelo, Independent Director Entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner. Mr.

Prior to the latest developments, Altman had been asked to return to OpenAI in an internal effort by investors including Microsoft, according to the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI’s board refused to go down that path.

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After being fired, Altman immediately began making plans to start a new AI company, The Information and The New York Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The paper added that Altman may have pitched several ideas to investors in recent months for new AI projects, including manufacturing customized AI chips and AI hardware devices that could compete with Nvidia. .

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Nvidia is scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday. The company’s stock price has risen more than 230% this year, solidifying its lead in the AI ​​space.

FOX Business’ Breck Dumas, Eric Revell, Timothy Nerrozi, Andrea Vacchiano and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.