Microsoft has announced that Sam Altman, the executive director of OpenAI and responsible for popularizing ChatGPT and leading the surge of interest in artificial intelligence (AI), will be joining the company as part of a new advanced AI research team. This comes just 48 hours after he left OpenAI, where his departure has raised concerns from investors, employees, and the technology industry as a whole.

Altman will be joined by other former executives and workers from OpenAI, including Greg Brockman. Their departure has left OpenAI with vacant positions and prompted discussions about the possibility of reinstating him in his position, but negotiations did not result in a return to OpenAI. However, other organizations have also expressed interest in hiring Altman and his team, including the Government of France, which has extended a proposal to him to help develop their capabilities in the field of AI.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Altman and Brockman, along with other colleagues, will be leading a new advanced AI research team at Microsoft. He expressed confidence in their ability to provide them with the resources necessary for success. The departure of Altman from OpenAI has important implications for both companies, as Microsoft has heavily invested in OpenAI and could face a loss of talent and competition from rival companies if he is not able to contribute his expertise to his new role at Microsoft.