Microsoft has made a significant move in the world of artificial intelligence by hiring Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of DeepMind, to lead its consumer AI products and research. Suleyman will be responsible for overseeing popular products such as Copilot, Bing, and Edge, and will report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. This marks the first time that one leader will be in charge of Microsoft’s consumer AI products.
The hiring of Suleyman is seen as a strategic effort by Microsoft to strengthen its position in the AI market, particularly outside of its ongoing partnership with OpenAI. Suleyman left Google in 2022 and has since been running his own startup, Inflection AI. His co-founder at Inflection, Karรฉn Simonyan, will also be joining Microsoft’s AI division as Chief Scientist.
As part of the transition, Inflection AI will be discontinuing its AI chatbot, Pi, and instead focusing on selling AI software to businesses. Suleyman’s journey from co-founding DeepMind to joining Microsoft has not been without controversy, as he faced complaints of aggressive behavior during his time at Google. In a podcast interview, Suleyman apologized for his actions and expressed regret.
Both Microsoft and Inflection AI have not yet commented on the hiring of Suleyman and Simonyan. The move is expected to further enhance Microsoft’s position in the AI industry and drive innovation in consumer-facing AI products. With Suleyman’s expertise and leadership, Microsoft is poised to make significant strides in the development of cutting-edge AI technology.
