Satya Nadella reveals Bill Gates once warned Microsoft would “burn” $1 billion on OpenAI

satya nadella

When Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI back in 2019, it wasn’t the obvious, game-changing move it seems like today. In fact, CEO Satya Nadella says the decision was seen as risky — even by Microsoft’s founder, Bill Gates.

In a new interview with TPBN, a tech-focused YouTube show, Nadella shared that convincing the board to invest such a huge amount wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. “Even at Microsoft, you need board approval to just go throw a billion dollars out there,” Nadella said with a laugh. “But I must say it was not that hard to convince anyone that this is an important area — and it’s going to be risky.”

At the time, OpenAI was a nonprofit research lab trying to make AI safer and more useful. Gates himself was skeptical of the plan. “I think Bill even said, ‘Yeah, you’re going to burn this billion dollars,’” Nadella recalled. Still, Microsoft decided to take the leap, knowing it might not pay off.

Fast forward to today, and that “risky” bet has paid off beyond expectations. Since 2019, Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI and now holds a 27% stake — valued at about $135 billion — in its for-profit arm.

OpenAI’s fortunes skyrocketed after the viral success of ChatGPT in late 2022. The chatbot gained a million users in just five days, transforming the company into a household name. As of October 2025, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says over 800 million people use ChatGPT weekly.

This week, OpenAI also completed its restructuring, forming a new public benefit corporation under its nonprofit foundation. For Microsoft, what started as a risky experiment in AI has turned into one of the most profitable partnerships in tech history.