Microsoft To Invest $10b In OpenAI

Uploaded on 2023-01-30 in TECHNOLOGY-Key Areas-Artificial Intelligence, FREE TO VIEW, BUSINESS-Services-IT & Telecoms

Microsoft is reportedly preparing for its largest startup investment in history as it wants to invest as much as $10 billion in OpenAI, the company behind generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) which has systems including ChatGPT and DALL·E. The deal is part of a funding round with other investors and would have no equal in both size and valuation, reportedly around $30 billion including the investment.

OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a mission-based AI research organisation by some of Silicon Valley’s most successful investors, including Elon Musk, with the stated goal is to develop safe AI 'for the benefit of humanity'.

If this deal happens Microsoft will be consolidating its place in the AI market since 2019 when it first invested $1 billion in OpenAI and if it proceeds this latest deal would give Microsoft a 49% shareholding, leaving Microsoft is well positioned to use the potential of OpenAI's powerful models.

Within the larger universe of AI and machine learning startups, Microsoft's investment would put OpenAI close to the giants of self-driving cars and machine learning-powered social media apps. This news reflects the high level of interest in the AI company, whose chatbot has made an impact on industry experts with its ability to produce poetry, debug code and answer questions whilst imitating human speech.

OpenAI’s large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT, are important to Microsoft’s future acquisition strategy and OpenAI has already developed a number of models such as DaVinci and Codex for the input and output of text and code. Integrating and expanding these models under the Microsoft brand could put the company in a highly competitive position for the next decade, especially in the face of competitors like Google’s Deepmind.

If it does acquire OpenAI, Microsoft will likely have to deal with numerous complaints about the ethics of OpenAI’s image generation model and DALL·E has also been the subject of much criticism, with some arguing that AI is a threat to the work of creative professionals.

OpenAI's tools could be used for content and asset creation for Xbox Game Studios and generative AI has also been discussed as a tool for Roblox, a competitor of Microsoft-owned Minecraft, with clear potential for integration within other Microsoft properties.

Companies like Microsoft and other major US technology leaders see the productization of AI as the future and will spare no expense in securing access to the technology.

Reuters: Forbes: CNBC: ITPro: Pitchbook: Insider Intelligence: Morning Brew:

You Might Also Read:

Super Intelligent Machines Need An Off Switch:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

If you like this website and use the comprehensive 6,500-plus service supplier Directory, you can get unrestricted access, including the exclusive in-depth Directors Report series, by signing up for a Premium Subscription.