Microsoft has hired Sam Altman to lead a new AI research division Credit: Getty Images / Budrul Chukrut /SOPA Images / LightRocket

Sam Altman, former CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, will be joining Microsoft to head up a new advanced artificial intelligence (AI) research team, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. 

Microsoft’s announcement comes after OpenAI’s board announced on Friday (17 November) that they were removing Altman from the company. 

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OpenAI said Altman “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board”.

Details behind the alleged mismanagement have not been released and the true reason behind Altman’s ousting currently remains a mystery. 

The shock firing led to the followed departure of OpenAI president, Greg Brockman, in solidarity with Altman.

According to The Information, dozens of OpenAI employees have walked from the company in support of the former CEO.

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Writing on X on Monday (20 November), formerly Twitter, Nadella said it had recruited Altman and former board chair Greg Brockman, as well as other colleagues, to work in a new advanced AI research team within the company.

Emmet Shear, previous head of Amazon’s streaming giant Twitch, has reportedly been appointed the new interim CEO at OpenAI. 

OpenAI’s board said it stood by Altman’s firing, according to the New York Times. 

Microsoft has invested billions of dollars into OpenAI since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022.

The popularity of the generative AI chatbot has been astronomical since its release one year ago. Four days after its launch on 30 November 2022, the site set the record for the fastest sign up of one million users.

With Microsoft’s backing, OpenAI has released constant updates to ChatGPT’s model, most recently with the release of GPT-4 Turbo.

The chatbot is now used by over 100 million weekly users and utilised by 92% of Fortune 500 companies.