The technology giant Microsoft is looking to invest in the artificial intelligence powerhouse Open AI.
Along with billionaire Elon Musk, Microsoft was one of the earliest collaborators and investors of Open AI. (Mr. Musk pulled out in 2018 to avoid conflict with Tesla). Microsoft invested $1billion in 2019 and now is looking to increase its investment. The artificial intelligence company, which started in 2015 as a non-profit, has recently made waves with its latest product, Chat GPT.
One thing to note is that Open AI is no longer a non-profit. The company projects $200m in revenue for 2023 and $1b for 2024. Also, Microsoft plans to integrate its office products and Bing search engine with Open AI products: Chat GPT and Dall-E. This long-term partnership, that started in 2016, and the massive internet wave Chat GPT made has encouraged Microsoft to further increase its investment.
Microsoft’s latest plan includes a massive $10 billion investment that would see the company take over 75% of Open AI’s profits until the investment is returned. Even after the return is complete, Microsoft will still own 49% of the company’s stake. As of right now the deal is not complete and the structure might change. But the initiative shows the growing confidence investors have in Artificial Intelligence.
If the deal goes through as structured, Open AI’s evaluation will jump to $29b. This and current trends in the industry point to a new dawn of civilization that leaves us wondering for what is to come. Even though there are concerns regarding AI ethics, its integration with our lives seems inevitable. The world will benefit more if we focus on safe and equitable use of AI. OpenAI still plans to continue its non-profit ventures by allocating 2% of its total revenue to it.
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