How this 'very, very worried' email from Microsoft VP led to OpenAI investment - Times of India

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Microsoft

has made a significant investment in

OpenAI

, a startup specialising in artificial intelligence (AI). This investment has proven to be a turning point for OpenAI, providing them with the resources to develop next-generation

AI technology

. In turn, Microsoft has gained access to this technology for its products and services, strengthening its position in the rapidly growing field of AI.

According to a report, this investment stemmed from Microsoft's concerns over

Google

's lead in developing AI technology.

Bloomberg said that according to an internal email released Tuesday (April 30) as part of the Justice Department's antitrust case against the search giant, the Satya Nadella-led company invested heavily and partnered with OpenAI after it sensed falling badly behind Google in the AI race.

The 'very, very worried' email from Microsoft's VP

The report says that Microsoft chief technology officer Kevin Scott was "very, very worried" when he looked at the AI model-training capability gap between Google-parent Alphabet efforts and Microsoft's.

He then wrote an email to CEO

Satya Nadella

and co-founder Bill Gates, after which the top executives privately acknowledged they lacked the infrastructure and development speed to catch up to the likes of the competition.

"We are multiple years behind the competition in terms of machine learning scale," Scott, who also serves as executive vice president of artificial intelligence at Microsoft, said in the email. Nadella forwarded it to Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood, saying it explains "why I want us to do this."

Nadella answered questions about the email when he testified at the trial last year, saying that the "investment [in OpenAI] was not made with the narrow focus on just search."

Scott reportedly observed that Google's search product had improved on competitive metrics because of its advancements in AI.

Meanwhile, the US Justice Department argued that AI innovations may have been released years ago if Google hadn't monopolised the search market.