DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman has been named head of Microsoft’s newly created consumer AI division. Microsoft also hired several employees from Suleiman’s Inflection AI startup. This strategic move is aimed at protecting Microsoft’s leading position in the face of increasing competition from Google.
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Welcome to Microsoft. @mustafasuleyman. I’m excited to have you lead Microsoft AI as we build consumer AI like Copilot that people love and benefit people around the world.
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) March 19, 2024
As CEO of Microsoft AI, Mr. Suleiman will oversee a variety of consumer AI initiatives, including the Copilot chatbot and the innovative Bing browser, which incorporates AI technology.
Developed with support from OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Copilot plays a pivotal role in Microsoft’s efforts to generate revenue from its AI efforts. It has the ability to compose emails, summarize documents, and create presentations.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a blog post that the addition of new expertise will further accelerate the company’s progress.
He said that as part of this shift, Mikhail Parakhin and his entire team of co-pilots, Bing and Edge, as well as Misha Birenko and the GenAI team, will report to Mustafa.
Microsoft has recently been working with a variety of startups, including France’s Mistral AI, amid increased regulatory scrutiny of its partnership with OpenAI.
Karen Simonian, co-founder of Inflection AI with Suleiman and Microsoft board member Reid Hoffman, will assume the role of chief scientist.
Meanwhile, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gernman, Apple and Google are currently in active discussions about implementing Gemini to improve next year’s iPhone’s generative AI capabilities.
Google’s Gemini chatbot is set to benefit immensely from a potential partnership with Apple. Considering recent controversies, this collaboration holds great promise for the future of chatbots.
Microsoft names Mustafa Suleiman as CEO of new team responsible for consumer AI products pic.twitter.com/bxwwvIb4LV
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 20, 2024
Currently, Apple is actively working on incorporating various AI features into the upcoming iOS 18 operating system. As highlighted in Gernman’s report, the company aims to leverage its proprietary AI models to enhance device-based capabilities and prioritize them over cloud-based alternatives.
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