Sacked OpenAI boss Sam Altman to join Microsoft

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks to members of the media during the Introduction of the integration of the Microsoft Bing search engine and Edge browser with OpenAI on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Redmond. Microsoft is fusing ChatGPT-like technology into its search engine Bing, transforming an internet service that now trails far behind Google into a new way of communicating with artificial intelligence. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Kathmandu: Sam Altman is joining Microsoft, the tech-giant has announced, ending speculation he might return to OpenAI just 48 hours after his chaotic ousting.

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Altman would be joining Microsoft to lead “a new advanced AI research team”.

Meanwhile, ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear will become OpenAI’s new interim boss.

Writing on X, he called the job a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.

But he added the way Altman had been sacked was “handled very badly” and “seriously damaged our trust”.

Altman, 38, helped launch the firm – best known for creating the popular ChatGPT bot – and has become one of the most influential figures in the fast-growing generative artificial intelligence (AI) space.

So when the board dismissed him on Friday, after saying it had lost confidence in him, it sent shockwaves through the industry, and set in train a chaotic series of events.

News Source: BBC