Microsoft hires OpenAI's Sam Altman after being fired as CEO last week

Altman joins Microsoft to lead a new AI research team.

What you need to know

• Microsoft has announced that is it hiring Sam Altman, ex-CEO of OpenAI.
• Altman was fired by OpenAI last week after the board said they had lost confidence in his leadership.
• Altman will be joined by Greg Brookman to lead a new AI research team at Microsoft.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced in a post on X that the company is hiring Sam Altman, previously CEO at OpenAI to lead a new AI research team alongside Greg Brookman, co-founder of OpenAI. 

The news comes after a whirlwind weekend of news, which started on Friday when Sam Altman was fired by OpenAI's board of directors. The board says they lost confidence in Altman's leadership, which lead to him being fired and Brookman stepping down as president at OpenAI.

Nadella's statement on Microsoft's current partnership with OpenAI, and the hiring of Altman and Brookman said the following:

"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 Shear and OAI's new leadership team and working with them. And we’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, 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."

OpenAI has appointed two interim CEOs in the last two days after it fired Altman on Friday, starting with Mira Murati, before former Twitch CEO Emette Sheer took over as OpenAI's interim CEO this morning. OpenAI's board of directors were considering reinstating Altman after it was reported that Microsoft was unhappy with the decision to oust him.

However, it appears the board remains committed to its decision, and has placed Sheer in the CEO chair instead of reinstating Altman. As a result, Microsoft has chosen to hire Altman for their own AI research team, with Brookman joining along with other colleagues.

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