Source: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/11/19/a-statement-from-microsoft-chairman-and-ceo-satya-nadella/

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.

News article covering the situation: https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/20/23968829/microsoft-hires-sam-altman-greg-brockman-employees-openai

Altman’s Microsoft hiring comes just hours after negotiations with OpenAI’s board failed to bring him back as OpenAI CEO. Instead, former Twitch CEO and co-founder Emmett Shear has been named as interim CEO.

Altman had been negotiating to return as OpenAI CEO, but OpenAI’s four-person board refused to step down and let him return.

  • notllmchatbot@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Can’t be a good thing for OpenAI. Even if Sam Altman doesn’t start by taking half the company with him for this research team, I don’t see why Microsoft should continue placing OpenAI on a pedestal when they can continue the work in house.

    • badabummbadabing@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      We have no insight how much of a driving force for OpenAI’s success Sam Altman has been, or would have continued to be.

    • f10101@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Yeah, they’ll keep OpenAI on life support for a few months until the exfiltrated staff have built MSGPT5, at which point Microsoft will just cut them off.

    • newtonkooky@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      This was gonna be the end state of openai even with Sam Altman there, their deals with MS effectively look like MS owns them

      • bitmoji@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        these events are largely a result of processes initiated by the previous CEO of openai, so

    • ewankenobi@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      The Verge article mentioned Altman had been trying to raise funds for a new venture to build specialised AI chips. It also mentions Microsoft have previously shown interest in that area. So if that the route he’s going down is possibly fairly irrelevant to OpenAI. Though he’s clearly taken key people with him so that can only be bad news forOpenAI