Microsoft: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella seems to be ‘unsure’ about ChatGPT creator Sam Altman joining the company

The Sam Altman-OpenAI-Microsoft story is slowly turning into a soap opera with a lot of drama full of twists and turns. Almost 24 hours ago Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed that the ChatGPT founder is joining Microsoft and would lead a new AI research team. However, it seems like Nadella is a bit unsure of Altman joining Microsoft.
In an interview with CNBC, Nadella said that he is “exactly where I was on Friday morning”.He further said that Microsoft is “committed toOpenAI and Sam, irrespective of what configuration.”This does indicate that Nadella is unsure whether Altman would join Microsoft or head back to OpenAI.
Nadella was clear that Microsoft “chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and obviously that depends on the people at OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft, so I’m open to both options.”He also said that “obviously we want Sam and Greg to have a fantastic home if they’re not going to be at OpenAI, with all the colleagues at Microsoft.”

Altman’s future is still up in the air

Altman hasn’t made any public comment on whether he is joining Microsoft or going back to OpenAI. Reports have suggested that Altman may go back to OpenAI if the board members — the ones who voted to oust him from the company — resign from their positions. In a post on X, he said, “We have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before. we are all going to work together some way or other, and i’m so excited. one team, one mission.” Again, it is a bit cryptic as Altman has left it a bit open ended. He also said that “Satya and my top priority remains to ensure openai continues to thrive. We are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers. The openai/microsoft partnership makes this very doable.”