In brief: Is the perfect marriage of the intersection between AI and Big Tech heading for divorce? According to sources, OpenAI and Microsoft aren't as cozy as they once were, and the strain is beginning to show on their respective CEOs, Sam Altman and Satya Nadella.
Microsoft helped push OpenAI to the top of the multi-billion-dollar AI industry by investing $13 billion into the firm since 2019. ChatGPT is closing in on one billion users, and OpenAI was recently valued at $300 billion.
But the Wall Street Journal reports that a rift is growing between the companies' CEOs, Altman and Nadella. The publication writes that there has been tension over the computing power Microsoft provides OpenAI, the access the startup gives the Windows maker to its models, and whether OpenAI really will create artificial general intelligence (AGI) any time soon. Altman keeps stating that this is close to happening, but Nadella disagrees and doesn't appreciate his fellow CEO constantly claiming otherwise.
There's also a conflict of interest with Copilot, Microsoft's own AI. Nadella wants to increase its sales and usage, and last year hired one of Altman's rivals, Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, to build models that would lessen the company's reliance on OpenAI – though the difficulties of doing so meant Microsoft ended up relying on OpenAI even more than before.
But potentially the biggest issue involves OpenAI's planned move to restructure into an independent for-profit company. Microsoft could effectively block the move, which could cost OpenAI tens of billions of dollars.
OpenAI has its own form of attack. According to people familiar with the matter, the board can trigger a clause that would prevent Microsoft from accessing its most cutting-edge technology. It's claimed that officials have raised the possibility of doing so over the past year.
Another sign of strain between the companies appeared during Google's antitrust trial. Nick Turley, head of product for ChatGPT at OpenAI, was one of the DOJ's witnesses. He testified that OpenAI had contacted Google last year about a partnership that would improve ChatGPT. The chatbot already uses Microsoft Bing's search data, but Turley mentioned there had been "significant quality issues" with a company referred to as "Provider No. 1," which was likely a reference to Bing.
Nadella, you may remember, was the one who offered to hire Altman after he was briefly pushed out by the OpenAI board in 2023. The WSJ writes that at the closest point in their relationship, Nadella would text Altman five or six times a day and Altman would reply in kind. Now, they text less but do still speak on scheduled weekly calls.
