Sam Altman To Join Microsoft After Abrupt Ouster From OpenAI, Says Satya Nadella

Sam Altman is joining Microsoft! The ousted OpenAI CEO is set to join tech giant Microsoft along with former OpenAI President Greg Brockman. Both Altman and Brockman will lead a new advanced artificial intelligence (AI) research time.

the mission continues https://t.co/d1pHiFxcSe

¡ª Sam Altman (@sama) November 20, 2023

Reuters

Why is Altman joining Microsoft?

Altman was fired abruptly by OpenAI's board after claiming that the company "no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading." Following this, Brockman also left the company. It was speculated that many OpenAI employees were shocked at their abrupt removal and were ready to follow them to their next endeavour.

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¡­

¡ª Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 20, 2023

Altman and Brockman's appointments were confirmed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday. He also confirmed Emmett Shear's reported appointment as the new OpenAI CEO, claiming they are "looking forward to getting to know Emmett Shear and OAI's new leadership team and working with them."

Also read: Sam Altman Will Not Return To OpenAI, Board Names Emmett Shear As New CEO: Report

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Many former OpenAI employees are set to join the new advanced AI research team at Microsoft, it appears. "We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success," Nadella said on X (formerly Twitter).

In addition, Nadella stated his commitment to the partnership with OpenAI and their new leadership. Microsoft has invested $13 billion into OpenAI. Earlier, OpenAI executives were trying to bring Altman back, but these negotiations fell apart, The Information reported.

Why was Altman fired?

Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI co-founder and board director, who was among the key figures responsible for Altman's removal, told staff on Sunday night that Altman would not be returning to OpenAI after negotiations with the board of directions, company leaders, and investors over the weekend.

The board fired Altman on Friday after finding that he was "not consistently candid in his communications." Following his removal, Brockman also handed in his resignation, along with three senior researchers, The Information reported.

Reuters

Also read: Musk Urges OpenAI To Reveal Why Altman Was Fired Citing Risk Of Advanced AI

OpenAI was founded in 2015 and shot to fame last year after the release of ChatGPT, a viral AI tool to generate content.

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