Microsoft snapped up Sam Altman and another architect of OpenAI for a new venture after their sudden departures shocked the artificial intelligence world, leaving the newly installed CEO of the ChatGPT maker to paper over tensions by vowing to investigate Altman’s firing, the Associated Press reports.
The developments today follow a weekend of speculation about how the power dynamics would impact OpenAI. It ended with former Twitch leader Emmett Shear taking over as OpenAI’s interim chief executive and Microsoft announcing it was hiring Altman and OpenAI co-founder and former President Greg Brockman to lead its new advanced AI research team.
Microsoft invested billions of dollars in the startup and helped provide the computing power to run its AI systems. OpenAI said on Friday that Altman was pushed out after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board of directors, which had lost confidence in his ability to lead the company.
Microsoft is now in an even stronger position on AI. Its shares rose nearly 2% before the opening bell and were nearing an all-time high Monday.
