Newly discovered email exchanges involving Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, CEO Satya Nadella, and co-founder Bill Gates have revealed that Microsoft was apprehensive about Alphabet-owned Google’s advancements in the field of artificial intelligence. This concern led to Microsoft investing billions in OpenAI.
The emails, which were revealed during the ongoing US Justice Department antitrust case against Google, highlight Microsoft officials' concerns regarding Google's progress in AI. They were particularly impressed with the effectiveness of the Gmail auto-complete feature.
In a discussion thread titled "Thoughts on OpenAI," Scott admitted that Microsoft was lagging significantly behind its competition in the realm of machine learning. He disclosed that due to infrastructure deficiencies, it took Microsoft engineers half a year to replicate Google's BERT model.
The email exchanges from 2019 pointed out that the artificial intelligence capabilities of OpenAI, DeepMind, and Google Brain were noteworthy and posed stiff competition for Microsoft. Scott initially underestimated these competitors, a mistake he later regretted.
In discussions about OpenAI, Scott’s outlook was later shared by Nadella with Microsoft CFO Amy Hood, indicating his interest in pursuing this venture.
According to reports by Business Insider, the email conversation was heavily censored and seemed to be a response to either Gates or Nadella. Gates, who stepped down from his role at the company in 2020 amid misconduct allegations, was instrumental in facilitating the deal with OpenAI.
In 2019, Microsoft formed a strategic partnership with OpenAI through an initial investment of $1 billion. Currently, the company has invested over $13 billion in the AI startup. This collaboration helped Microsoft stay competitive with Google in the Artificial Intelligence sector by incorporating AI features into Microsoft Office apps, the Edge browser, and the Windows operating system.
