Microsoft CEO Says OpenAI Board Was 'Amateur City'

"On Monday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (net worth $1.3 billion) took the stand to defend his firm against Musk (net worth $828 billion), who also named Microsoft as a defendant in the suit. Musk alleges Microsoft supported OpenAI's pivot toward becoming a for-profit enterprise with its $10 billion investment in 2023. But on the stand, Nadella pushed back on Musk's position. He was "proud" Microsoft had invested in OpenAI's early days, back when "no one else was willing" to do so."

"Much of the testimony centered around the brief ouster of Altman, the company's CEO, in 2023. Nadella did everything he could to ensure investors the company would not "crumble" as employees threatened to resign en masse. Nadella feared these employees could create a "new company," a prospect he found "obviously" concerning. "I just wanted to make sure we could hang on to the band that created all this technology, one way or the other," he said."

"Nadella said he was "pretty surprised, to say the least" when the OpenAI board briefly removed Altman in 2023. "There was no reach out to me from the board, which I thought would be a pretty obvious thing to do." When he was not given a reason for the firing, he said, he realized the OpenAI board was "amateur city as far as I was concerned.""

"In his testimony earlier in the trial, Musk said Microsoft's investment in OpenAI was strictly in pursuit of profit. "With all due respect to Microsoft, do you really want Microsoft controlling digital superintelligence?" he asked during the trial's first week. The richest man in the world may have a point."

Elon Musk sued OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman for allegedly betraying the company’s philanthropic mission, with a trial that could shape the future of the ChatGPT creator. Microsoft is named as a defendant, and Musk alleges Microsoft supported OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit model after a $10 billion investment in 2023. Satya Nadella testified that Microsoft was proud to invest in OpenAI’s early days when no other parties were willing. His testimony focused on the brief removal of Altman in 2023 and efforts to reassure investors and retain key employees. Nadella said he was surprised by the board’s actions and criticized the lack of outreach and reasons for the firing.

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