Microsoft’s CEO has reportedly made significant changes to strengthen the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) business.
As the Financial Times (FT) reported Tuesday, December 30, these changes include a complete overhaul of Microsoft’s senior leadership. Satya Nadella aims to keep the company ahead in the AI race following the restructuring of its partnership with OpenAI.
The chief executive is responding to increased competition in the AI field. He wants to speed up the development of Microsoft’s AI models, coding tools, and applications, according to more than half a dozen current and former Microsoft executives.
“Satya is in ‘founder mode,’” said Dee Templeton, Microsoft’s deputy chief technology officer. This refers to a hands-on leadership style popularized by tech investor Paul Graham.
Sources close to Nadella also say he is concerned about rising competition from Amazon and Google, as both companies progress in infrastructure and model development.
The report mentions that while Microsoft 365’s AI assistant Copilot has over 150 million monthly active users, it still falls short of Google’s 650 million and OpenAI’s 800 million users for their chatbots.
“Satya is trying to show a sense of urgency,” a Microsoft executive said. “The goal is to streamline some of the existing structures and make it easier for him to connect directly.”
The FT notes that Microsoft gained an early advantage in AI through its multi-billion dollar investment in OpenAI, allowing access to that company’s technology and data center contracts. However, Microsoft will no longer have access to OpenAI’s research and has given up its exclusivity over data center needs under the new agreement made with OpenAI in October.
This report follows a similar piece by The Information last week, which stated that Nadella was unhappy with the company’s progress on Copilot and had started taking a more hands-on role.
In other news about artificial intelligence, PYMNTS recently reviewed the year in agentic AI. Their research found that in May, 85% of chief financial officers surveyed said they had no plans to adopt agentic AI.
However, by July, newer findings indicated that agentic AI was moving from discussions to testing at a growing number of companies, with strict guidelines around scope and authority.
“That pattern now defines the early playbook for banks and payment providers,” PYMNTS wrote. “Agents are being used in workflows related to money, like handling exceptions, matching invoices, supporting collections, and managing disputes, where mistakes can be seen and reversed. Institutions that can safely manage these use cases and adjust controls to match client readiness are taking the lead.”
Read more AI News here.
Source: https://www.pymnts.com/