Microsoft says Altman will lead new in-house AI team, as OpenAI board hires former Twitch CEO to lead start-up
- Microsoft says Sam Altman will lead the software developer’s new in-house artificial intelligence team after he was ousted from OpenAI
- OpenAI’s board has hired former Twitch chief Emmett Shear as CEO, defying calls from investors to reinstate Altman
OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman is joining Microsoft to lead its artificial intelligence (AI) effort after the board replaced him with Twitch’s ex-CEO, a stunning reversal for the widely respected tech evangelist who helped jumpstart the AI boom.
Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, who quit the board around the same time, will lead a newly created in-house AI development team at the US software giant, a major OpenAI backer. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a post early on Monday that the company remains committed to its relationship with OpenAI and is looking forward to working with the start-up's new CEO, Emmett Shear.
The twin moves mark a turning point in the frenetic aftermath of Altman’s firing, which stunned Silicon Valley and set off a campaign led by Nadella and other OpenAI executives to get Altman reinstated.
OpenAI and its globe-trotting co-founder are credited with kicking off a race for AI supremacy from Washington to Beijing, inviting comparisons to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Microsoft’s shares climbed as much as 2.7 per cent in pre-market trading in New York, after closing 1.7 per cent lower Friday.
Shear stepped down as CEO of Amazon.com’s game-streaming site Twitch earlier this year. He won over directors at OpenAI because of his past recognition of the existential threats that AI presented, a person familiar with the matter said.