Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) has hired Mustafa Suleyman and Karén Simonyan, co-founders of Inflection AI, along with several other employees from the company.
Co-Founders of Inflection AI Join Microsoft
Suleyman also co-founded DeepMind, the artificial intelligence (AI) outfit bought by Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOG) in 2014.
Industry experts believe that this move fortifies Microsoft’s reputation as an AI stalwart in big tech circles and forms part of CEO Satya Nadella’s drive to acquire top expertise. Suleyman will head Microsoft’s new consumer AI unit, while Simonyan will be this division’s new chief scientist.
Microsoft plans to showcase its fresh AI initiatives on Thursday, 21 March 2024. Sources indicated that the event will centre on Microsoft Copilot, Windows and Surface.
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In 2023, the tech titan steered a $1.3bn funding drive for Inflection AI. At the time, Inflection AI claimed to be constructing the globe’s largest AI cluster using Nvidia graphics processing units.
Confirming the career moves, Suleyman took to X and posted:
I’m excited to announce that today I’m joining @Microsoft as CEO of Microsoft AI. I’ll be leading all consumer AI products and research, including Copilot, Bing and Edge. My friend and longtime collaborator Karén Simonyan will be Chief Scientist, and several of our amazing teammates have chosen to join us.
Suleyman added that Inflection AI will continue under new leadership, but offered no details as to whom this might be.
In a Microsoft media blog, Nadella said:
We have a real shot to build technology that was once thought impossible and that lives up to our mission to ensure the benefits of AI reach every person and organization on the planet, safely and responsibly.
