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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AAP alleges 'deep-rooted' conspiracy to kill Kejriwal, BJP terms it 'drama'
New Delhi, Oct 26: The AAP on Saturday alleged the BJP was conspiring to "kill" its convener Arvind Kejriwal and had become "an enemy of his life". The ruling party warned that the BJP would be responsible if anything happened to the former chief minister.
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta dismissed the AAP's allegations, saying it was yet another "drama" by the AAP to defame the BJP ahead of the assembly polls.
The AAP had on Friday claimed that Kejriwal, a Z-plus protectee, was attacked by "BJP goons" during his 'padyatra' (foot march) in west Delhi's Vikaspuri, a charge trashed by the saffron party.
However, no video of the alleged attack was made available by the party. Police said they had not received any official complaint from the AAP.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged police were complicit in the incident.
"Police complicity in the incident clearly shows a deep-rooted conspiracy to kill Kejriwal. The BJP has become an enemy of his life," he said.
There was no immediate response from police to the Rajya Sabha MP's claim.
Singh said that despite Friday's incident, Kejriwal would carry on with the 'padyatra' as scheduled.
AAP leaders including Kejriwal are undertaking 'padyatras' in different assembly segments of the city in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls, likely to be held in February 2025.
Asked why the AAP had not filed a complaint regarding the alleged attack on Kejriwal, Singh said police could take cognisance of the incident and launch a probe.
It would not have happened if police were impartial. Police officers did not do anything to stop the "attackers" who belonged to the BJP's youth wing, he claimed, adding the AAP was seeking legal opinion on the matter.
He also accused BJP leaders of supporting the "attackers".
Singh said Kejriwal would "neither stop nor bow down" and continue to fight for the people of Delhi.
If anything happens to Kejriwal, then the BJP would be responsible for it. Even if Kejriwal suffers a scratch, Delhi's people would take revenge on the BJP, he said.
At another press conference, Delhi cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed one of the attackers was the vice president of the BJP's Delhi Yuva Morcha.
"BJP Yuva Morcha functionaries attacked Kejriwal. One of the attackers is the vice president of BJP Yuva Morcha of Delhi and the second is the general secretary," he said.
The two BJP leaders, who were dancing after attacking Kejriwal, had lost the councillor elections, claimed Bharadwaj.
BJP leader Gupta rubbished the AAP's claims.
"Despite blaming the BJP, no complaint has been filed by the AAP over the alleged attack on Kejriwal, which shows that the party is trying to play the victim card and gain sympathy by trying to defame the BJP before the assembly polls," he said.
The BJP leader said the AAP is worried about the "waning public support" and is attempting to confuse people through such tactics.
The area where Kejriwal was allegedly attacked is not an AAP stronghold and hence, the party "concocted" the story to gain sympathy, Gupta alleged.
