I guess it really did come down to the GPUs in the end. Funding and talent matter a lot less when it takes you 12 months to get H100s.
Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
171–180 of 1001 posts
Re: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
#172This is sorta brilliant. Microsoft has access to almost everything OpenAI does. And now Altman and Brockman will have that access too. Meanwhile, I imagine their tenure at MSFT will be short-lived, because hot-shot startup folks don’t really want to work there. They can stabilize, use OpenAI’s data and models for free, use Microsoft’s GPUs at cost, and start a new company shortly, of which Microsoft will own some lar…
if hot shot startup folks don't want to work there, why would they even go there? If you're flat broke, you need a job; they're not flat broke, they don't need a job. The deal at MS is worth it, or it's not, it's not something they need to decide over the course of a weekend... unless it's what they were already not being candid about.
> if hot shot startup folks don't want to work there, why would they even go there
MSFT may have offered them a lucrative offer to join (for the time being) in order to alleviate the potential stock dump.
Re: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
#173Purely business-wise, it sure does seem like it's a race down to the bottom. A disproportionate amount of the sharpest minds are working on this, burning ungodly amounts of money but no one has so far has really managed to capture that value in a profitable way either.
The public positions of these people are opaque, inconsistent, and intellectually dishonest too. They're apparently not here to make money but they need a lot of it until they create a superintelligence (but money will be obsolete by then, apparently). And AI may destroy humanity so we will try to build it faster than anyone else so it doesn't..? WTF.
It's okay to want to make money and cement your name in history, but what is up with these public delusions?
Re: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
#174Ben Thompson: The most extraordinary weekend of my career https://twitter.com/benthompson/status/1726514608234746003
Ben who?
Re: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nope. They're following the path to power, money, and maybe continued fame. That's all.
I'll bet Microsoft offered him a very sweet deal, which for Sam means lots of autonomy. Microsoft is happy. They get to wrap this movie before the markets open. Edit: I also agree with bayindirh below. These things can both be true.
They had to.
Also, that doesn't mean Microsoft won't collect the outcome of this deal with its interest over time. Microsoft is the master of that craft.
Microsoft did not offer this because they're some altruistic company which wanted to provide free shelter to a unfairly battered, homeless ex-CEO.
Re: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It sounds very out of line of what you'd expect. Except if Sam and Greg have some anti-compete clauses. If they join MS, they have a nice 10 billion USD leverage against any lawsuites.
non-competes are extremely hard to enforce in California. Sam would literally have to download Open AI trade secrets into a USB drive to get in trouble.
And now he doesn’t even need to. He can get access to all their models legally as a Microsoft employee.
Re: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
#177Have to give it to Satya. There's a thin possibility that Microsoft would have to write-off its whole $10B (or more?) investment in OpenAI, but that isn't Satya's focus. The focus is on what he can do next. Maybe, recruit the most formidable AI team in the world, removed from the shackles of an awkward non-profit owning a for-profit company? Give enough (cash) incentives and most of OpenAI employees would have no qua…
He doesn’t have to write down the investment that came in the form of azure credits. He just doesn’t have to deliver. The core thing he is 100% focused on is not having a massive stock drop Monday morning. That’s it that’s his reason to exist all weekend long. After that. He has time to figure it out.
Don't forget, MS has a board as well. One Satya reports to the same way Sam reported to the OpanAI one. Potantially loosong 10 billion is nothing the board will just shrug off.
Re: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
#178So let me get this straight, the OpenAI and Microsoft deal does work until AGI is achieved. But that would mean that some sort of source code is restricted for Microsoft at the moment even, otherwise Microsoft would have access to the code right until AGI is achieved (which would be weird).
Regarding Sam and Greg joining MSFT I see this announcement as damage control from Satya. It's still unclear on what exactly they will work on and if Sam and the rest of the team can just continue where they left off at MSFT.
It's Satyas way of showing the shareholders that they still back the face of OpenAI.
We will see how this whole thing develops.
Re: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
#179This is sorta brilliant. Microsoft has access to almost everything OpenAI does. And now Altman and Brockman will have that access too. Meanwhile, I imagine their tenure at MSFT will be short-lived, because hot-shot startup folks don’t really want to work there. They can stabilize, use OpenAI’s data and models for free, use Microsoft’s GPUs at cost, and start a new company shortly, of which Microsoft will own some lar…
Satya will probably allow them to run a startup under the MS umbrella without interference and with full MS backing.
Yeah... Not really how a mega-corp like MSFT does things. They LOVE to have control.
Re: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and others to join Microsoft
#180This is sorta brilliant. Microsoft has access to almost everything OpenAI does. And now Altman and Brockman will have that access too. Meanwhile, I imagine their tenure at MSFT will be short-lived, because hot-shot startup folks don’t really want to work there. They can stabilize, use OpenAI’s data and models for free, use Microsoft’s GPUs at cost, and start a new company shortly, of which Microsoft will own some lar…
if hot shot startup folks don't want to work there, why would they even go there? If you're flat broke, you need a job; they're not flat broke, they don't need a job. The deal at MS is worth it, or it's not, it's not something they need to decide over the course of a weekend... unless it's what they were already not being candid about.
Microsoft have access to the gold mine and with a bit of time Altman can get enough gold to open a jewelry business