Microsoft’s stock has risen 1.6% in early trading after the announcement of the hiring of Sam Altman, co-founder and former number one of OpenAI, as a new AI research team leader. The company is now trading around 1%.
Altman, who was dismissed from OpenAI last Friday, announced on X that he will join Microsoft with other colleagues to lead a new AI research team within the company. He described the project as “incredible” and said that he was excited to be a part of it.
OpenAI’s board of directors had previously announced Altman’s firing following a deliberative review process, which they claimed impeded his ability to fulfill his responsibilities. They stated that they no longer have confidence in their ability to lead OpenAI and plan to launch an independent investigation within 30 days to shed light on Altman’s firing and the upheaval within the start-up.
Meanwhile, Emmett Shear has accepted the position as OpenAI’s interim number one after being dismissed from Twitch on Friday. He commented on X that his decision was made “in a matter of hours,” describing it as “the opportunity of a lifetime.” Shear plans to launch an independent investigation within 30 days to shed light on Altman’s firing and the upheaval within the start-up.
