What you need to know
- Veteran Microsoft AI researcher Sebastian Bubeck has left the tech giant to join OpenAI.
- Bubeck will help the ChatGPT maker in its efforts toward reaching artificial general intelligence (AGI).
- Microsoft claims that despite his departure, it “looks forward to continuing our relationship through his work with OpenAI.”
In a surprising turn of events, Sebastian Bubeck, one of Microsoft’s top AI researchers, recently left the company to join OpenAI (via The Information). Bubeck is a Microsoft veteran who worked at the company for over a decade, spearheading operations on small language models like the lightweight Phi AI models.
The veteran is joining the ChatGPT maker to assist in its efforts toward reaching artificial general intelligence (AGI). Following Bubeck’s departure, the tech giant indicated:
“We appreciate the contributions Sebastian has made to Microsoft and look forward to continuing our relationship through his work with OpenAI.”
While Bubeck’s seemingly abrupt departure from Microsoft remains a mystery, he’ll likely continue building and improving OpenAI’s operations in its small language models department.
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A win for OpenAI?
Over the past few months, OpenAI has been under fire, coupled with the mass departures of high-profile officials, including Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew, and Vice President of Research Barret Zoph. As it stands, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is one of the last remaining cofounders.
The departure of employees can be attributed to an alleged prioritization of shiny products over safety processes and disagreements between top management regarding the shipment of next-gen AI models. In case you missed it, the ChatGPT maker reportedly rushed through GPT-4o’s launch.
While an OpenAI spokesman admits that the firm’s safety team was under immense pressure, prompting them to rush through the testing phase, they claim that OpenAI didn’t cut corners. However, the ChatGPT maker reportedly sent out RSVP invites before testing began.
Another report reveals former OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever’s abrupt departure, prompting top officials to think the company would collapse. They reportedly made several offers to Sutskever. However, they couldn’t find a suitable position for the cofounder amid the company’s reorg.
This news comes after OpenAI evaded bankruptcy and projections of $5 billion in losses within the next 12 months after investors, including Microsoft and NVIDIA, raised $6.6 billion through a round of funding, pushing its market cap to $157 billion.
Investors have already started raising concerns about AI firms’ spending on projects, claiming it’s difficult to establish a profitable path in the AI landscape. In contrast, market analysts and experts predict that OpenAI could become the world’s dominant AI company, worth trillions of dollars.
