Continuing the trend of Google DeepMind experts leaving the company to join other endeavors, Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind has now left Google’s AI firm and will now be running a new consumer AI unit at Microsoft. He is also the CEO of Inflection AI, a rival startup to OpenAI.

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that Suleyman, a British entrepreneur and co-founder of DeepMind in London in 2010, will be reporting directly to Microsoft’s Chief Executive, Satya Nadella. He is set to head a new division within Microsoft that consolidates consumer-oriented products such as Microsoft’s Copilot, Bing, Edge, and GenAI into a single team, named Microsoft AI.

In a strategic bid to leverage the burgeoning generative AI sector, Microsoft has positioned itself at the forefront of technological advancement with a substantial $13 billion investment in OpenAI, the creators behind ChatGPT. This move has allowed Microsoft to swiftly incorporate cutting-edge AI technology into its suite of products, including Copilot and more.

This aggressive push into AI not only secures Microsoft an advantageous position in the competitive race within Silicon Valley but also places it steps ahead of its closest competitor, Google, which is now faced with the challenge of bridging the gap.

Beyond its partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft has extended its reach into the AI innovation sphere by backing various AI startups, including the French developer Mistral, further underscoring its commitment to leading the charge in AI deployment.

Nadella said in a statement on Tuesday: “I’ve known Mustafa for several years and have greatly admired him as a founder of both DeepMind and Inflection and as a visionary, product maker, and builder of pioneering teams that go after bold missions.”

Microsoft is set to absorb the majority of Inflection’s workforce. Among the notable hires is Karén Simonyan, co-founder and chief scientist of Inflection, who will take on the role of chief scientist within Microsoft’s AI group. While the exact number of employees transitioning has not been disclosed by Microsoft, the company confirmed that the team will comprise AI engineers, researchers, and specialists in building large language models.

Source: Financial Times