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OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

businessinsider.com

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Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#191

Post by clwg »

xazzy wrote: post #40

Am an employee, signed the letter. I can't read the article so maybe the content is more nuanced, but the framing irks me. This all happened really fast and the offer was informal. I can only speak for myself but I do have a lot of respect for modern MS, and would have seriously considered the move if that's what kept the team together and comp was reasonable. I would be surprised if most people felt differently.

I can't even imagine what it was like to experience this from the inside, with the entire world speculating on this drama, especially considering that the day before, everyone was celebrating what you and your team were creating.

I have to assume that the environment there was pretty exciting as well, and I hope the energy wasn't ruined by this. I like being surprised by technology and I love seeing people innovate because of what you and your team have pushed to the forefront. Godspeed.

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#192

Post by gretch »

blagie wrote: post #111
vthallam wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> >> and comp was reasonable there's no way you guys would get the same comp though? like not even close. MSFT irrespective of how much it wants you is not going to honor the 10X increase in valuation from the upcoming $90 billion valuation. Even if they do, you will miss on the upside. MSFT stock is not going to 10X but OpenAI's might.

I think if things went that far, OpenAIs valuation would very quickly pop to zero. Real MSFT stock beats a theoretical could-have-been with a 10x upside.

> Real MSFT stock beats a theoretical could-have-been with a 10x upside.

As someone who has done startups, I highly agree with this statement.

But for a lot of people doing start ups for the first time (including my younger self) they don't understand the headache of private market equity, and thus do not apply the correct discount.

As they say, a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#193

Post by Atotalnoob »

dmazzoni wrote: post #80
replwoacause wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the offer from MSFT, albeit unofficial, was that anyone who made the switch kept their current salary.

What about the non-salary part of comp? For most employees, their OpenAI stock would have been worth even more than their salary at its current valuation, and it has the potential to potentially be worth quite a bit more in the future. Replacing it with Microsoft stock would have made it a sure thing - but also with much less growth potential. I'd be really curious to hear if Microsoft actually got so far as to figur…

OpenAI doesn’t have stock.

They have PPUs, which is similar to profit sharing

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#194

Post by kbenson »

mrtksn wrote: post #147
kbenson wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No, not all companies try to exploit their strength in one area to make me use some other product that I have no interest in. I'm not sure of any large one that doesn't. The incentives are aligned such that it's hard for them not to. It's easy to find examples of similar (sometimes almost identical) behavior from most large companies.

Okay, what other company does it? You may say Apple & App Store but that's not the same.

Apple with iMessage onthe iPhone is about as similar as you can get, and was actually at the forefront of my mind when I wrong my comment. It's a chat platform that you have to use their product to be able to utilize.

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#195

Post by [deleted] »

scarface_74 wrote: post #176
ElevenLathe wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even from a compensation point of view, they presumably have a better chance for a big exit of some kind at a startup vs as a Microsoft employee.

A startup that was going to implode? And if you think random “some kind of startup” will have a realistic chance of some type of exit, I got a startup idea where you can be an unpaid employee for “equity”. In what world in today’s market do you really think open AI would ever see its value at an exit based on their current revenue model?

[deleted]

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#196

Post by notahacker »

zlg_codes wrote: post #94
wintogreen74 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One old guy in a bubble thinks says another young guy in same bubble (who he just happened to mentor) is "the most powered person he's ever met."

That whole first part disgusted me. "most powered person he's met"? Good lord does that come off as tone deaf, almost groveling. And the most important company in human history? The hell is that guy smoking, because I've got good shit and that's some serious hyperbole. Is the hype machine in the room with us right now?

The other PG hyperbolic comment about Sam that springs to mind is when he said that meeting Sam felt like what it must have been like meeting young Bill Gates. That's a throwaway comparison from a journalist, but from a bloke who barely interviews anyone who isn't a self-confident workaholic nerd convinced he'll change the world and get rich doing so.. its a bit more of a extravagant comparison.

But then, considering the reputation of young Bill and the one Sam seems to be acquiring, maybe the "powered" traits that apparently set him apart from other YC candidates weren't so positive after all...

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#197

Post by fireflash38 »

marvin wrote: post #174
reso wrote: post #53

I am still so confused by this whole saga. No one has explained how or why the entire board decided to do a coup, and then simply changed their minds a few days later. I have to assume that the individuals involved are under a mix of social and legal pressure to not talk about the circumstances.

A majority of the OpenAI board members were heavily sympathetic to the AI doomsday cult mostly known through MIRI. A novel discovery spooked them, made them believe that The End Is Near, and that continuing on the path led by Altman would lead to imminent disaster. OpenAI is designed so that the board do pretty much whatever they deem necessary if this happens, and the board interpreted the necessary action as unilat…

This doesn't sound biased at all

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#198

Post by zlg_codes »

xcv123 wrote: post #86
zlg_codes wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They ought to, considering they acquired Red Hat a while back.

The Red Hat deal was relatively small at $34B. Microsoft has a market cap of $2.8 Trillion. IBM is only at $146 Billion. But IBM still has a higher head count.

I mean, that's one way of viewing it, yes, but considering how influential they are in spaces other businesses are struggling in (free software), having a $34B market cap isn't shabby performance. IBM getting an easy-in to free software via a respected (by business, anyway) partner is a big opportunity, but they'd have to play their cards right and I can't think of the last big thing IBM was behind. They might be able to sell Red Hat to everyday people if they pair it with hardware and have reasonable pricing for personal or self-hosting support licenses. I'm not savvy enough on IBM's history to know if their current staff are good picks to develop a more complete product on top of RHEL, but I can see it having value and success if priced well. As I understand it though, both IBM and RH seem more interested in cloud stuff.

You'd have to be blind to consider Red Hat not influential in its sphere.

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#199

Post by rurp »

scarface_74 wrote: post #173
andsoitis wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the conversation in this thread makes me wonder about whether the right incentives for OpenAI should be to make tons of money. Personally, I prefer to make tons of money, but as someone who will not have a say in whether to participate in an AI-driven world, I would prefer if there were non-profit counterweights. Perhaps governments will have the wherewithal to steer things but I am somewhat concerned.

You really think “non profits” are any less power hungry than for profits?

I'm not the original poster, but yes I do. Sure there are plenty of examples of power hungry non-profits and once in a while a for-profit company acts altruistically, but on average I think that there's a difference. If we randomly picked some executives from either type of company I would bet that the people in the non-profit group would more often have motivations beyond pure power and money accumulation.

Re: OpenAI employees did not want to go work for Microsoft

#200

Post by zlg_codes »

scarface_74 wrote: post #190
zlg_codes wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's not just me. I'm just the only one in this thread. HN is not the entire world.

Considering Microsoft’s and the rest of BigTech revenue and market share in their areas, it doesn’t seem like enough people of importance share your opinions to matter.

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