Microsoft hires Sam Altman after being fired by OpenAI

Former OpenAI chief executive officer (CEO) Sam Altman has joined Microsoft to lead its artificial intelligence (AI) efforts days after the artificial intelligence company fired him.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, confirmed the news on Monday on X.

Microsoft

“We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners.

“We look forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI’s new leadership team and working with them. And we’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success,” said Nadelle.

We remain committed to our partnership with OpenAI and have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners. We look forward to getting to know Emmett…

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— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 20, 2023

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Twitch co-founder Shear, meanwhile, confirmed his appointment as OpenAI’s new CEO on Monday, days after the ChatGPT-maker fired Altman.

Fellow OpenAI co-founder, Greg Brockman also quit as company president after Altman was fired on Friday, in a major shake-up at the organisation.

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,…

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 20, 2023

Open AI

OpenAI and Altman rocketed to fame with the launch of ChatGPT last year, showcasing advances in generative artificial intelligence that set off a gold rush in the sector.

The board stood by its decision in a memo sent to employees on Sunday night, saying it was “the only path to advance and defend the mission of OpenAI,” The New York Times reported.

“Put simply, Sam’s behaviour and lack of transparency in his interactions with the board undermined the board’s ability to effectively supervise the company in the manner it was mandated to do,” the board said in the memo, according to the New York Times.

Future

Altman indicated on Monday that he expected OpenAI to endure and was working with Microsoft CEO to secure the start-up’s future.

“Nadella and my top priority remains to ensure OpenAI continues to thrive. We are committed to fully provide continuity of operations to our partners and customers. The OpenAI/Microsoft partnership makes this very doable,” Altman posted on X.

satya and my top priority remains to ensure openai continues to thrive

we are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers

the openai/microsoft partnership makes this very doable

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 20, 2023

Since OpenAI released its hit ChatGPT chatbot almost a year ago, artificial intelligence has captured the public’s imagination, with hopes that it could be used for important work like drug research or to help teach children.

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