Microsoft has hired Sam Altman the former CEO of OpenAI to lead its newly minted advanced artificial intelligence research team.
Altman who has become the face of AI evolution, lost his job as the CEO of OpenAI on Friday by the board of directors of AI company because, according US media, the board had grown increasingly concerned that Altman was underestimating the dangers of its tech and leading the company away from its stated mission.
Altman announced his appointment with a post on Monday “The mission continues” which was replied to by Satya Nadella.
“I’m super excited to have you join as CEO of this new group, Sam, setting a new pace for innovation. We’ve learned a lot over the years about how to give founders and innovators space to build independent identities and cultures within Microsoft, including GitHub, Mojang Studios, and LinkedIn, and I’m looking forward to having you do the same,” said Nadella.
Microsoft is a major investor in OpenAI and helped the company to raise $10 billion which pushed the valuation to $29 billion. According to Kara Swisher, a tech reporter, Nadella was very involved, alongside investors at Sequoia and Thrive, in pushing for the OpenAi to rehire Altman as CEO, the board steadfast on the decision and went ahead to hire a new CEO. Emmett Shear, former CEO of Twitch, is now the CEO of OpenAI.
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“Remember If OpenAI does not meet the terms of the contract, it can walk. Speaking of walking that would be half the company tomorrow, which is an issue to follow Altman. Microsoft is very interested in Altman and would dearly love him to decamp there with the troops, as would many,” Swisher said.
Shear, who says he accepted to be CEO of OpenAI after a few hours’ consideration, notes that the relationship with Microsoft remains strong.
“Our partnership with Microsoft remains strong and my priority in the coming weeks will be to make sure we continue to serve all our customers well. OpenAI employees are extremely impressive, as you might have guessed, and mission-driven in the extreme. And it’s clear that the process and communications around Sam’s removal has been handled very badly, which has seriously damaged our trust,” Shear said.
Shear’s next course of action includes hiring an independent investigator to dig into the entire process leading up to the point of Altman’s removal and generate a full report.
