Why Microsoft swooped in, Sam Altman, Brockman and the bot forward

Major news in the Ai landscape mudded with a touch of controversy as Microsoft swooped in to bring former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman alongside OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman to the Microsoft camp.

How did this happen?

OpenAI reportedly confirmed that Altman would not return as CEO, which led to Microsoft swooping in to snatch Altman alongside Brockman, to lead an advanced research lab at Microsoft.

The intent is simply to move more aggressively into the development of AI.

This means Emmett Shear, the former Chief executive of Twitch will replace Mira Murati as interim Chief.

Leaking negotiations

There have been reports of negotiations on the table which included Altman but it seems concerns around his ability to continue leading OpenAI have crystilized and have led to a total shift and more aggressive competition.

Confirming speculation right off the bat, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said: “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 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…

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 20, 2023

Altman was quick to endorse Nadella’s tweet, while also affirming his overall mission which was to continue his mission.

The move would possibly give more room for AI focussed development at Microsoft. The pair joining Microsoft will likely gain the space to build independent identities and cultures within Microsoft.

We are going to build something new & it will be incredible.

Initial leadership (more soon): @merettm @sidorszymon @aleks_madry @sama @gdb

The mission continues. https://t.co/oAerJnMYQm

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 20, 2023

The team moving to Microsoft includes Jakub Pachocki, director of research at OpenAI, OpenAI former research scientist Szymon Sidor and Aleksander Madry.

There are tweets that could highlight some trouble in the OpenAI camp, which could be a sign that more resignations are expected.

Could this be a mass exodus, or the needed shedding necessary to shift OpenAI into the next phase of its remarkable growth?

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