Sam Altman, former CEO of OpenAI, is set to join Microsoft to lead a new advanced artificial intelligence research team, as announced by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Nadella, on the social media platform “X” (formerly known as Twitter), stated that Altman, along with former OpenAI president and chairman Greg Brockman and other colleagues, will be joining Microsoft. This move comes as part of Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to AI innovation.
Microsoft, a tech giant, has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and maintains a close technological partnership with the organization. Nadella expressed, “We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources they need to succeed… We are committed to our partnership with OpenAI and confident in our product roadmap, our ability to continue innovating in everything we’ve announced to continue supporting our customers and partners.”
Altman had been leading OpenAI since 2019. However, OpenAI’s board announced late Friday that Altman would be replaced on an interim basis by Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, citing that Altman was “not always forthcoming in his communications with the board.”
The board’s statement clarified that Altman’s departure followed a review process that concluded he was not consistently transparent with the board, impairing his ability to fulfill his responsibilities. The board no longer had confidence in Sam’s ability to manage OpenAI.
OpenAI, recently in talks for selling employee shares to investors at a valuation of $86 billion, became a household name this year following the launch of its chatbot, ChatGPT, in late 2022. ChatGPT allows users to write simple text queries and receive responses that can lead to more in-depth conversations.
