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Nadella reveals that Bill Gates was skeptical of Microsoft $1 billion investment in OpenAI, primarily because of its non-profit structure.
Microsoft and OpenAI's multi-billion-dollar partnership can be viewed as both the best "tech bromance" in history and the most scrutinized/controversial partnership agreement. The tech giant $1 billion investment in the ChatGPT maker back in 2019 is arguably one of the smartest investments in the history of technology.
However, not everyone in the tech industry shares the same views. Following OpenAI's long-anticipated launch of GPT-5, Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk claimed that the ChatGPT maker was going to eat Microsoft alive, potentially predicting its apocalypse.
Bill Gates was skeptical about Satya Nadella investing a billion dollars in OpenAI, owing to the AI firm was fairly new and had structured itself as a non-profit venture. "I think Bill even said, 'Yeah, you're going to burn this billion dollars,'" Nadella added.
In retrospect, who would have thought? I didn't put in a billion dollars saying, 'Oh yeah, this is going to be a hundred bagger. We kind of had a little bit of high risk tolerance, and we said we want to go and give this a shot.
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella
However, despite the hesitation and unclear profit path, Microsoft moved forward with its plans and invested in OpenAI — a move that has since paid off dramatically.
Is Bill Gates still intimately involved in Microsoft's affairs?
(Image credit: Windows Central)
A previous report suggested that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates remains closely involved in the company's affairs, despite stepping away to focus on his philanthropic efforts. His advice is reportedly regarded as gospel, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella frequently relying on his guidance for the company’s transformative AI initiatives. Gates also played a pivotal role in cultivating the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI, which has significantly contributed to the success seen in the field.
Even Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff predicted doom for the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership after the ChatGPT maker unveiled its $500 billion Stargate project designed to facilitate the construction of data centers across the United States. The executive indicated that Microsoft won't use OpenAI's technology in the future, which seems to hold some water following the launch of Microsoft's off-frontier custom AI models.
This news comes as Microsoft and OpenAI just announced a restructuring deal, which allows the ChatGPT maker to evolve into a for-profit venture. It's also worth noting that the restructure has also impacted Microsoft's ownership stake from 32.5% to 27% in the new public benefit corporation, which translates to approximately $135 billion.
What exactly is the Microsoft/OpenAI partnership?
Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership started in 2019 when the tech giant made a $1 billion investment in the ChatGPT maker. This afforded Microsoft exclusive rights to its technology, which it integrated across its tech stack portfolio. However, the partnership has since evolved with several amendments to the initial agreement, which cost it its exclusive cloud provider title for OpenAI.
Is Bill Gates still working for Microsoft?
While it's public knowledge that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates left the company to focus on philanthropy, it is reported that the executive is actively involved in the company's operations, including the recruitment of high-ranking executives and the company's AI trajectory.
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Posted Thursday 30 October 2025 at 4:54 am AEST (my time).
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