After an exceptionally tumultuous weekend, Satya Nadella, the CEO and Chairman of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), announced that Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and some others would be joining the technology giant’s new in-house artificial intelligence (AI) team.
Sam Altman, a co-founder of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, was fired from his role as the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO) on Friday afternoon. Brockman, also a co-founder, was also ousted from the board on November 17 and quit from his role as the company’s president later that same day.
While revealing the creation of MSFT’s own AI team, Nadella also stated in the X post that his company will continue its partnership with OpenAI and its new management.
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Microsoft has been partnered with the artificial intelligence firm since 2019 and has invested more than $13 billion in it so far. The latest major expansion of the cooperation was announced in January 2023.
Is MSFT set for new all-time highs?
The link between the happenings at OpenAI and the stock price of Microsoft became very evident on Friday as MSFT experienced a sudden and sharp decline as soon as the news of tumult at OpenAI was reported and – despite making a slight recovery – ended the day at $369.85, meaning it had dropped 1.68% that day.
The decline continued into the after-hours trading on Friday but started reversing in Monday’s pre-market – shortly after Nadella announced hiring Altman and Brockman. It is likely that MSFT will experience quick and significant growth after the markets officially open on Monday due to the announcement of the creation of an internal AI team headed by two industry veterans.
Even without the two executives, Microsoft has been doing very well throughout 2023 in terms of stock market performance. Since January, its shares have risen 54.37%. The tech giant also maintained a steady upward trajectory through the recent rally and is up 13.22% in the last 30 days.
What is happening at OpenAI?
The situation at OpenAI is not entirely clear at the time of publication. The official statement on the firing of Altman and Brockman given on Friday was mostly unclear and unspecific, as it merely quoted a lack of clear communication that sabotaged the board’s ability to work properly.
Since then, it was reported that Microsoft was displeased with the decision to oust the two co-founders, and negotiations for their return were underway as late as Sunday, November 19. The negotiations, as made evident by Nadella’s announcement, were not successful,
The timing of the OpenAI leadership change is also noteworthy as its flagship product, ChatGPT, is reportedly experiencing a renewed surge in popularity. So many people recently attempted to sign up for its premium version that the company temporarily halted onboarding new people. Additionally, the platform has been temporarily blocking various premium users from accessing ChatGPT 4 over the course of the previous week.
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