Microsoft to invest more in OpenAI amid intensifying tech race

Microsoft said Monday that it would invest more in OpenAIbetting its future on the startup and technology behind the chatbot sensation ChatGPTas well as setting the stage for further competition with rival Google from Alphabet.

Microsoft is upping a gamble it made nearly four years ago on OpenAI, heralding a revolution in artificial intelligence (AI). In 2019, he dedicated $1 billion to the company co-founded by Elon Musk and the investor Sam Altmanand has since built a supercomputer to power the OpenAI technology, among other forms of support.

In a blog post, Microsoft said: “Today we are announcing the third phase of our long-term partnership with OpenAI through a multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment to accelerate advancements in AI and ensure these benefits are shared widely with the world.” .

A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on the terms of the investment, which some media reported would amount to $10 billion.

Microsoft is devoting even more resources to keep the two companies at the forefront of so-called generative AI, a technology capable of learning from vast amounts of data how to create virtually any type of content simply from a text message.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which churns out prose or poetry on command, is the top example that garnered attention in Silicon Valley last year.

Last week, Microsoft declared its intention to incorporate this type of AI into all of its products, as OpenAI continues to pursue the creation of human-like intelligence for machines.

Microsoft is already incorporating OpenAI technology into Bing, its search engine which, for the first time in years, is seen as a potential rival to Google, the industry leader.

The much-anticipated investment shows how Microsoft has plunged into competition with Google, the inventor of AI research now planning its own presentation this spring, a person familiar with the matter has previously said.