Leading technology company Microsoft (MSFT) has announced that its vice president of generative artificial intelligence (AI) research is leaving the company to join privately held start-up OpenAI.
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Sebastien Bubeck, who had led Microsoft’s AI research team, is moving to OpenAI so that he can focus more on developing artificial general intelligence, or AGI, which is the point at which technology matches or surpasses human intelligence. Bubeck’s exact title and role at OpenAI have not been made public.
However, Microsoft said in a news release that it plans to continue working with Sebastien Bubeck, given the tech giant’s close relationship with OpenAI. To date, Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion into OpenAI and uses the start-up firm’s technology in its Bing search engine and across other parts of the Microsoft eco-system, including the Teams video conference service and Xbox video games.
Shuffling the Decks at OpenAI
Bubeck’s move to OpenAI comes after several executives left the company in recent months. Most recently, chief technology officer Mira Murati departed OpenAI in late September. Many senior executives have left OpenAI as the company looks to shift from a non-profit to a for-profit business model.
At the same time, Microsoft continues to push deeper into AI with the help of OpenAI and others. In recent weeks, Microsoft made headlines with an ambitious plan to partner with Constellation Energy (CEG) to restart the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania and use the power it generates to run AI applications. MSFT stock is up 12% year-to-date.
Is MSFT Stock a Buy?
Microsoft stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating among 29 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 26 Buy and three Hold recommendations made in the last three months. There are no Sell ratings on the stock. Furthermore, the average MSFT price target of $503.13 implies 20.04% upside potential.
