Microsoft CEO 'comfortable' with OpenAI non

By Jeffrey Dastin

DAVOS,Download mt4 mobile version official Switzerland (Reuters) -Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday said he had no issue with partner OpenAI's governance structure, two months after the startup's non-profit board temporarily ousted its chief executive without regard to investors' interests.

The surprise November dismissal of OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman over an alleged communication breakdown triggered a crisis at the startup behind ChatGPT, in which employees threatened to resign en masse and go work for Microsoft (NASDAQ:), which is backing OpenAI with billions of dollars.

"I'm comfortable. I have no issues with any structure," Nadella said at a Bloomberg News event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.

OpenAI's board, charged with protecting the startup non-profit's mission to develop powerful artificial intelligence that benefits humanity, ultimately restored Altman days later and now is in the process of filling out its membership.

"I expect us to make a lot of progress on that in the coming months," OpenAI CEO Altman said at a later Bloomberg event in Davos. "And then after that, the new board will take a look at the governance structure."

"We'll go look at it from all angles," he said.

Microsoft has now secured a non-voting observer position on the OpenAI board.

Competition authorities in Europe, Britain and reportedly the United States have started looking closely at the Microsoft-OpenAI relationship. Their agreement guarantees the Windows maker large chunks of the startup's profits depending on certain conditions, a person briefed on the terms has said.

According to Nadella, the fact that Microsoft does not fully own OpenAI distinguished their deal in a pro-competitive way.

"Partnerships is one avenue of, in fact, having competition," he said.

Microsoft's investments in computing power and years-old bet on OpenAI before its ChatGPT fame, Nadella said, were a "highly risky bet" and "not all conventional wisdom".

Statement: The content of this article does not represent the views of FTI website. The content is for reference only and does not constitute investment suggestions. Investment is risky, so you should be careful in your choice! If it involves content, copyright and other issues, please contact us and we will make adjustments at the first time!