Sam Altman: 'Satya Nadella and my top priority remains to ensure OpenAI continues to thrive'

Sam Altman was on Monday announced as the head of Microsoft's new advanced AI research team by CEO Satya Nadella.

Following Sam Altman's induction to Microsoft, the former CEO of OpenAI has said that it's his and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's priority is to ensure that the ChatGPT maker continues to thrive.

Taking to X on Tuesday, the new leader of Microsoft's new advanced AI research team said, "Satya and my top priority remains to ensure OpenAI continues to thrive. We are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers. The OpenAI/Microsoft partnership makes this very doable."

satya and my top priority remains to ensure openai continues to thrive

we are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers the openai/microsoft partnership makes this very doable — Sam Altman (@sama) November 20, 2023

Speaking in a similar vein, in an interview with CNBC International, Satya Nadella hinted at being open to Sam Altman returning to OpenAI or joining his company. "(We’re) committed to OpenAI and Sam (Altman), irrespective of the configuration," he said, adding that Microsoft could innovate on its own but chose to "explicitly partner with OpenAI." Nadella emphasised that this partnership depends on people at OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft, stating, "I’m open to both options."

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, the Microsoft CEO was quoted as saying, “I remain confident in Sam and his leadership and capability, and that’s why we want to welcome him to Microsoft.” He added, “Irrespective of where Sam is, he’s working with Microsoft.”

Since November 18, when OpenAI's board fired Altman, there has been confusion about whether the ousted CEO is heading to Microsoft or not. On November 21, The Verge reported that Sam Altman was still in the process of ironing out differences with OpenAI's board. One of the members, chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who initially led the move to depose Altman, has now changed his stance. Sutskever stated on X that he deeply regretted his "participation in the board's actions". This revelation came hours after OpenAI employees rallied behind Altman and called for the board's resignation.

Read more: Satya Nadella pulled one of the biggest coups in history by hiring Sam Altman, says Shark Tank India's Anupam Mittal