Microsoft has decided to step down from its position on the board of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, despite pressure from the company founded by Bill Gates, especially following the recent departure and return of Sam Altman. This decision comes after Microsoft invested $13 billion (approximately €12.014 billion) in OpenAI. The resignation is effective immediately. Although Apple was expected to take on an observer role on the OpenAI board as part of an agreement to integrate ChatGPT into its devices, the Cupertino company has decided not to proceed with this participation.
Antitrust and Restructuring
Microsoft's resignation coincides with antitrust investigations being conducted by authorities in the European Union and the United States into the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI. In June, the European Commission announced it was exploring the possibility of an investigation into this merger, while the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has also begun examining investments by major tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google in new generative AI companies.
Microsoft entered OpenAI taking advantage of Sam Altman's ousting. After being fired, Altman was quickly recruited by Microsoft, but OpenAI, influenced by a letter from nearly 90% of its staff, reversed the decision and reinstated Altman as CEO. Additionally, OpenAI appointed Mira Murati as CTO and Greg Brockman as President. The new board included former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Quora co-founder and CEO Adam D'Angelo.
OpenAI has confirmed that Microsoft will continue to have a presence on the board, but only as a "non-voting observer." "We made the right decision to partner with Microsoft, and we are excited that our new board includes them as a non-voting observer," declared the company behind ChatGPT.
Conflict at OpenAI
The conflict at OpenAI originated when several researchers warned the board about an artificial intelligence that could pose a threat to humanity. These findings led to Sam Altman's dismissal, also motivated by concerns about the commercialization of technological advances without fully understanding their consequences.
After the chaos generated by Altman's firing and subsequent reinstatement, OpenAI restructured its board of directors. The current board comprises Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Fidji Simo (CEO of Instacart), Nicole Seligman (former EVP of Sony), Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann (former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Paul Nakasone (former head of the NSA), Adam D'Angelo, and Sam Altman himself.
Meanwhile, Apple, which had considered a role equivalent to Microsoft's on the board, has ultimately discarded this possibility. OpenAI, under the leadership of CFO Sarah Friar, is establishing a new approach to engaging key strategic partners like Microsoft and Apple, as well as investors like Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, aiming to maintain an official but distant relationship.
