Microsoft Welcomes Ex-OpenAI Director to Head Up New AI Research Division

On Monday, it was announced that Sam Altman, co-founder and former CEO of startup OpenAI, would be joining Microsoft to lead a new AI research team. This news comes just three days after Altman was ousted as CEO of the company.

OpenAI, which developed the popular AI tool ChatGPT, has been backed by Microsoft with several billion dollars in investment. The technology has been incorporated into Microsoft’s own products such as the Bing search engine.

In a statement on social network X (formerly Twitter), Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, wrote that “Sam Altman and Greg Brockman will join colleagues at Microsoft and will lead a new AI research team.” This announcement came after OpenAI’s board of directors announced the dismissal of Altman on Friday due to inconsistent honesty in his communications and a loss of confidence in his ability to manage the company.

Several people in leadership positions at OpenAI, including Greg Brockman, also announced their departure following Altman’s dismissal. The first version of ChatGPT was launched on November 30, 2022, which marked the beginning of the race in Artificial Intelligence.