OpenAI’s former CEO Sam Altman, and other OpenAI members, join Microsoft to form an AI team

A few days ago, OpenAI fired Sam Altman from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) position, spreading a major shockwave across the company and the entire industry and even forcing Microsoft to release a public statement. Shortly after that and following pressure from investors, OpenAI’s board of directors decided to negotiate a possible return of Altman to its former position, only to hire a former Twitch CEO as Sam Atlman’s replacement.

However, it did not take long for Altman to find a new job—he and Greg Brockman, a former OpenAI president, joined Microsoft to lead its new AI research team. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, announced that change on his X (formerly Twitter) profile.

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.

Sam Altman confirmed Satya’s message: “The mission continues,” he said in a post on his X profile.

During the recently held Ignite conference, Satya Nadella said the two companies have a healthy and solid relationship. However, the news about Altman being ousted from OpenAI reportedly “infuriated” the CEO of Microsoft. It will be interesting to see how the partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft will unfold in light of the latest management changes.

Brockman posted on his X account that other major OpenAI executives would join Altman as a part of the new Microsoft AI team.

One person who apparently won’t be joining them is Mira Murati. After serving as its chief technology officer, she was installed as OpenAI’s interim CEO on Friday. She reportedly tried pushing the board to bring Altman back this weekend. In an X post this morning, Murati stated simply, “OpenAI is nothing without its people.”

Despite the shifts, the software giant and OpenAI will continue their partnership. Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI, and it provides the company with the necessary cloud infrastructure.