Microsoft's Nadella: No intention to obtain a seat on OpenAI's board OpenAI relies on Microsoft for key technologies

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on Tuesday that he does not want to increase control over OpenAI while European and British regulators consider investigating the close relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI, so he has no intention of obtaining a seat on OpenAI's board of directors. He also stated that OpenAI relies on Microsoft for some key technologies.

Nadella said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, "We just want a good stable state. Whatever the organizational structure of OpenAI in the past and present, whether it is a limited-profit, non-profit organization, or other forms, we have invested and collaborated. So I feel good about it, and any structure is fine with me."

The dismissal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in November last year showed that the connection between Microsoft and OpenAI is inseparable. Nadella personally led Altman's return and provided him with job opportunities. These connections, coupled with Microsoft's investment of about $13 billion in OpenAI, have triggered antitrust reviews in the UK and the European Union. In addition, it was reported in December last year that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also investigated the relationship between the two companies.

When asked about the EU investigation, Nadella said, "Regulatory agencies in any place will review companies of our size, and this is inevitable. Regulators ultimately want new participants, which is the core of ensuring vibrant competition."

After Altman's return, Microsoft obtained a non-voting observer role on the OpenAI board, but Nadella said that Microsoft did not seek a seat on the board. As the biggest supporter of OpenAI, Microsoft has completely transformed its entire product line around the underlying technology of ChatGPT, and Nadella believes that ChatGPT is "the first AI product that all of us can relate to."

However, Nadella said that Microsoft does not overly rely on OpenAI and pointed out that OpenAI relies on Microsoft for key parts of the technology needed to create its products. At the same time, Microsoft is also researching and developing its own AI projects, which are separate from OpenAI. Regarding the relationship with OpenAI, Nadella said, "I am very satisfied with our current structure. At the same time, I also feel very capable of controlling our own destiny."

Nadella stated that as the use of artificial intelligence continues to evolve, AI will provide new interfaces and models for applications, and Microsoft also sees opportunities to participate in the development of AI hardware. Microsoft's stock price rose 1.19% to $393.08 on Tuesday, with a current market value of $2.94 trillion, surpassing Apple last week to become the world's most valuable company. However, Nadella is not impressed by this milestone, referring to it as a "lagging indicator."

Nadella said, "Stock price is the least important thing to focus on, especially in our industry. The stock price has almost no meaning for what will happen tomorrow. Frankly, the question we all face is whether we can bet everything on what will happen next."