Microsoft appoints Sam Altman as head of its new AI team.

Microsoft appoints Sam Altman as head of its new AI team.
Microsoft appoints Sam Altman as head of its new AI team.
  • The technology chief, Mira Murati, has been appointed as the interim CEO of OpenAI, replacing Sam Altman.
  • On Sunday night, OpenAI announced that it had appointed former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to lead the company's artificial intelligence efforts.
  • Hours after the announcement, Microsoft absorbed Nadella, Altman, and Brockman into the in-house team.
After Hours
Ousted OpenAI chief Sam Altman to lead Microsoft’s new AI team

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced that former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will be joining the company to lead a new advanced AI research team.

On Twitter, Nadella announced that Altman, Brockman, and other colleagues will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.

Microsoft has invested billions in OpenAI and has a close technology partnership with the company.

Nadella stated, "We eagerly anticipate swiftly supplying them with the necessary resources for their achievement."

Our partnership with OpenAI remains strong, and we are confident in our ability to innovate and continue to support our customers and partners as we announced at Microsoft Ignite.

Nadella's post was reshared by Altman with a cryptic comment: "the mission continues."

Altman was removed from his position as CEO of OpenAI and replaced on an interim basis with technology chief Mira Murati. The board stated that Altman was not always truthful in his communication with them.

Over the weekend, a group of OpenAI investors were determined to reinstate Altman as CEO, despite his departure.

On Sunday night, OpenAI announced that former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear would be joining the company to run its artificial intelligence operations. However, just hours later, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Eric Altman and Max Brockman, who had been removed from their roles at OpenAI on Friday, would be absorbed into the Microsoft team.

On Sunday night, Nadella expressed excitement about meeting Shear and OpenAI's new leadership team.

This year, OpenAI, which was reportedly in talks to sell employee shares to investors at an $86 billion valuation, became a household name after releasing its ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022. The chatbot allows users to type in simple text queries and retrieve answers that can lead to more in-depth conversations.

— CNBC’s Ari Levy and Jordan Novet contributed to this report.

by Matt Clinch

technology