Microsoft has announced the hiring of Sam Altman, co-founder and former number one of OpenAI, to lead a new artificial intelligence research team within the company. This news comes after the sudden firing of Altman last Friday, which was announced by OpenAI’s board of directors following a “deliberative review process.”
Altman and Greg Brockman, both co-founders of OpenAI, will join Microsoft along with other colleagues to lead the new team. The CEO, Satya Nadella, wrote on X that he is excited about the opportunity to work with these talented individuals and build something new in the field of AI.
OpenAI’s board of directors has stated that they no longer have confidence in their ability to lead the start-up after Sam Altman’s departure. As a result, Emmett Shear has been appointed as OpenAI’s interim number one. Shear has described this decision as “the opportunity of a lifetime” and plans to launch an independent investigation within 30 days to shed light on Sam Altman’s firing and the upheaval within the start-up.
This news comes after a tumultuous weekend for OpenAI, during which it was announced that Sam Altman had been fired following “a deliberative review process by the board.” The body no longer has “confidence in its ability to lead OpenAI,” it added.