Microsoft Playfully Sneaks Out of Silent Seat at OpenAI’s Board Meeting
“Microsoft surprisingly retreats from non-voting board seat at OpenAI”
“In what has been described as a surprising turn of events, Microsoft has stepped away from the non-voting board ownership position at OpenAI, just two years after it had invested a billion dollars in the artificial intelligence research lab.”
Surprising is one word to describe it. You could perhaps even rustle up a few synonyms like ‘astonishing’ or ‘stunning’, but essentially they all point to the same sentiment – who in their right minds would dip out on a billion-dollar project just two years in?
Maybe Microsoft had aspirations to play it cool from the beginning, not cradle the baby too close to its chest, but rather be that cool uncle who occasionally happens by. Hence, the ‘non-voting’ part in the board membership. Immune to the boardroom brawls yet caring just enough to keep an eye on things from afar.
But it wasn’t long before the cool-uncle air wore thin. A measly two years down the line, and the software giant seems to have cut the cord entirely. The little fish grew up into a whale-sized entity, and Microsoft found itself too small a boat for the AI voyage.
It’s easy to deduce that OpenAI has grown leaps and bounds into a formidable tech whale in the ocean. It’s too irresistible for big sharks like Google, Facebook, and Amazon who now fancy their chances to court, tame, and possibly hitch a ride on the AI behemoth. Microsoft handed over its flashy billion-dollar ticket to this coveted club, brushed off its jeans, and simply walked away.
Cues for MOM – Microsoft has Other Matters, apparently, to attend to. In the quest for decentralized artificial intelligence, Microsoft is marching to its own drum. And while this company might have forgotten that ‘all’s fair in love and war’, it’s definitely remembered ‘business isn’t war’. Happy hunting, Google et al.
Who knows, OpenAI might just be a battlefield too roiling for Microsoft’s liking. But one man’s chaos is another man’s disco and it looks like Microsoft, the quiet, retiring type, has decided to pass on the party and head home early. No Google, no beer pong for Microsoft tonight; the tech giant has a big date with its pillow.
And so the plot thickens, the players change, but the game remains the same – the unquenchable thirst for the prowess of artificial intelligence. Will Microsoft’s retreat trigger a cascade of curious exits? Or will it simply leave behind an empty chair quickly filled by an eager contender? Only time will tell. Until then, all eyes are keenly trained on the boardroom doors of OpenAI. The next move? Someone may soon be making checkmate.