Microsoft has become an AI crackpot… thanks to Google

In the frantic race for innovation in artificial intelligence, Microsoft, stimulated by the meteoric rise of Google, has redoubled its efforts, transforming this rivalry into a strategic opportunity.

The world of artificial intelligence is today the scene of a fierce battle between technology giants. Emails recently revealed by the US Department of Justice, as part of its antitrust investigation against Google, reveal Microsoft’s growing concern about its rival’s hegemony in this area. This concern pushed the Redmond giant to react by investing massively in OpenAI.

This strategic turning point marked a new chapter in the AI ​​saga. Microsoft, aware of Google’s advance, has chosen not to sit idly by. By partnering with OpenAI, the company was able to stay in the race.

A reaction to the technological emergency

In 2019, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was alarmed by Google’s rapid progress in artificial intelligence, calling for urgent action to close this growing gap.

In an email to Microsoft CFO Amy Hood, Nadella relayed a message from CTO Kevin Scott emphasizing the need to respond quickly to Google’s growing dominance in this strategic area.

In this email, Kevin Scott admitted to having initially underestimated Google’s prowess, particularly with its AlphaGo models created by the company DeepMind, bought by Google in 2014. However, he quickly became aware of the colossal progress of Google in the development of natural language processing models. An observation which caused a real stir in the ranks of Microsoft. Scott noted that the infrastructure developed by Google had surpassed Microsoft’s current capabilities, intensifying his concern and the urgent need for action.

Investment in OpenAI as a pivot

Faced with the scale of the challenges and the accumulated delays, Microsoft made a strategic shift by partnering with OpenAI. In 2019, an initial investment of one billion dollars was injected. An amount which has since reached new heights since it is now 13 billion dollars.

A partnership which aimed in particular to fight back against Google, but also to redefine the AI ​​landscape by proving that the giant Microsoft was not going to be left behind so easily.

Nadella readily admitted his admiration for Google and its advances in autocompletion, particularly with Gmail. He also recognized that the company was “ several years behind in terms of scale of machine learning » compared to its competitor. To bridge the gap, investment in OpenAI was therefore essential.

Competition and its pressure can serve as real catalysts; Microsoft’s history with AI perfectly illustrates this observation. The Redmond giant was able to transform its concern into strategic action. The latter has not only caught up, but has joined the ranks of world leaders in AI. The proof is: its latest advances in this area as well as the development of its Copilot model, which continues to grow.

Source : Engadget