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What happens when a tech firm with a $1 trillion market cap opens its checkbook for an elite AI research lab? Let's set the scene.
*Cue narrator's voice*
A crisp morning in Redmond, WA: Fresh off strong quarterly earnings, Microsoft execs keep up the momentum. Though barely anyone's awake on the West Coast, the company announces a $1 billion investment in OpenAI, a research lab aiming for moonshot-level AI breakthroughs beneficial to all of humanity. Just your average mission statement.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco: OpenAI publishes an in-kind announcement touting how they'll use the money to develop "artificial general intelligence (AGI) with widely distributed economic benefits." For the uninitiated, AGI is the holy grail of artificial intelligence, capable of taking on a range of complex intellectual tasks. It does not currently exist.
The two have thrown down the gauntlet in the dog days of summer. Fin.
Let's dissect this deal
OpenAI will gain access to immense cloud computing resources, working with Microsoft to build AI supercomputing technologies on top of the Azure platform. In return, Microsoft gets the rights to license and commercialize pre-AGI tech developed through the partnership.
Open to change: With Y Combinator Chairman Sam Altman at the helm, OpenAI recently restructured from a nonprofit into a "capped-profit" business to court $$$ needed to lease more power. Plus, in today’s tight labor market, top s in AI are expensive. Microsoft's imprimatur—and a $1 billion cash injection—could be OpenAI's big break.
Google, u up?
This type of teamwork isn't unprecedented. Google acquired OpenAI competitor DeepMind in 2014 for over $500 million. Recently, Google's attempts to commercialize DeepMind breakthroughs and exert more control over the research arm have caused tensions. Could it be a cautionary tale for Microsoft and OpenAI?
Zoom out: Big Tech has deep pockets and computing resources. OpenAI and DeepMind have top-flight talent and ambitious research roadmaps. Though each party is contributing its respective strengths, it's far from guaranteed anyone will reach AGI. But in the short term, it does seem like Big Tech wants to commercialize pre-AGI products.