Emails show Microsoft wasn’t impressed by OpenAI’s early work, but wanted to keep it from Amazon
OpenAI wanted further Azure computing discounts, but Microsoft didn’t think it was on the verge of a breakthrough.
The Musk v. Altman trial has revealed that key executives at Microsoft doubted OpenAI’s ability to deliver immediate breakthroughs, giving us a look into how the software behemoth viewed the AI upstart in its earliest days.
An email thread released yesterday as evidence from the trial unfolding in Oakland showed execs’ skepticism as they weighed massive further investments in the company. The thread — spanning August 2017 through January 2018 — included a large group of Microsoft executives, including CEO Satya Nadella, CFO Amy Hood, and at least one executive on vacation with his family in Antarctica. It shines some light on the internal debate surrounding a request from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to offer up huge discounts for Azure AI computing resources, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Years before ChatGPT made its debut, OpenAI was expending significant resources working on an AI model that could beat competitive esports players in the video game “Dota 2.”
Microsoft had given OpenAI a huge discount on Azure computing for the project starting in 2016, in which OpenAI paid Microsoft $10 million for $60 million worth of computing. Altman emailed Nadella in August 2017 and said they needed a lot more:
“I think it will lead to major new breakthroughs in Al but will require huge amounts of compute, probably something like $300MM at Azure list prices. We could figure out how to fund some of it but not that much.”
Altman pitched a joint team to continue the work on “Dota 2,” with the new goal of competing in a match with two five-player teams. The Microsoft executives noted now fast the OpenAI team blew through their discounted computing, and cast doubt on whether the company was close to a breakthrough.
Nadella wrote on the group:
“Overall I can’t tell what research they are doing and how if shared with us it could help us get ahead. From what Elon is telling everyone... he feels Open Al is at verge of some big AGI breakthroughs. I know they are working t o push some NPU designs etc. They clearly are pushing Al at a level none of our first party or third parties are.”
Microsoft executive Harry Shum wrote:
“I visited OpenAl about a year ago, and was not able to see any immediate breakthrough in AGI.”
The executives thought the work was promising, but OpenAI was just using their GPUs in the cloud, and Microsoft wasn’t getting any access to the underlaying technology, nor any huge public relations benefit from the partnership.
But the group was worried that if Microsoft didn’t continue supporting the scrappy Elon Musk-backed startup, it might push them into the hands of their competitors — like Amazon.
Microsoft executive Eric Horvitz wrote:
“My worst case scenario is having them ditch Azure for AWS, as Kevin says bad-mouth then land with some big new innovation that is shared with our competition.”
Less than five years after that email, OpenAI would release ChatGPT, and Microsoft would invest billions in the company.
