OpenAI ex-CEO Sam Altman will join Microsoft to 'lead' new advanced AI research team: Satya Nadella
New York, Nov 20: Sam Altman, the former chief of artificial intelligence start-up OpenAI, will join Microsoft to "lead" a new advanced AI research team, the tech giant's CEO Satya Nadella announced on Monday.
In a blog post, Microsoft's Indian-origin chief said the company remains committed to its partnership with OpenAI and has confidence in its 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're extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman (OpenAI co-founder and former president), 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," Nadella said.
Nadella also shared Microsoft's announcement about Altman and Brockman joining the tech giant team in a post on X, to which the former OpenAI CEO responded, "The mission continues."
Replying to Altman's post, Nadella said, "I'm super excited to have you join as CEO of this new group, Sam, setting a new pace for innovation. We've learned a lot over the years about how to give founders and innovators space to build independent identities and cultures within Microsoft, including GitHub, Mojang Studios, and LinkedIn, and I'm looking forward to having you do the same."
Last week, the board of directors of OpenAI announced that Altman, 38, will depart as CEO and leave the board, which "no longer has confidence" in his "ability to continue leading OpenAI".
Brockman had also quit the start-up and had said that Altman and he were "shocked and saddened" by what the board did.
A statement by OpenAI said that Altman's departure follows a "deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities".
OpenAI had said that as part of this transition, Brockman will be stepping down as chairman of the board and will remain in his role at the company, reporting to the CEO.
In the blog post, Nadella said Microsoft looks forward to getting to know Emmett Shear, the former chief executive of Twitch who has been named interim chief at OpenAI, as well as OAI's new leadership team and working with them.
Nadella said Microsoft is continuing to rapidly innovate for this era of AI, with over 100 announcements across the full tech stack from AI systems, models, and tools in Azure, to Copilot.
"Most importantly, we're committed to delivering all of this to our customers while building for the future. We have a long-term agreement with OpenAI with full access to everything we need to deliver on our innovation agenda and an exciting product roadmap; and remain committed to our partnership, and to Mira and the team. Together, we will continue to deliver the meaningful benefits of this technology to the world," he said.
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…
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 20, 2023
the mission continues https://t.co/d1pHiFxcSe
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 20, 2023
Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today.
— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023
Let us first say thank you to all the incredible people who we have worked with at OpenAI, our customers, our investors, and all of those who have been reaching out.
We too are still trying to figure out exactly…
the mission continues https://t.co/d1pHiFxcSe
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 20, 2023
Today I got a call inviting me to consider a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to become the interim CEO of @OpenAI. After consulting with my family and reflecting on it for just a few hours, I accepted. I had recently resigned from my role as CEO of Twitch due to the birth of my…
— Emmett Shear (@eshear) November 20, 2023
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
