Microsoft recruits DeepMind co-founder for AI division
2 min read
British tech pioneer Mustafa Suleyman will serve as the chief executive of an organization focusing on consumer products and research
Microsoft has appointed the co-founder of the British artificial intelligence lab DeepMind as the head of a new AI division.
Mustafa Suleyman, 39, co-founded DeepMind with Demis Hassabis and Shane Legg in 2010. The company was later acquired by Google for £400m in 2014 and now forms the core of Google’s AI efforts, following a merger with another unit to become Google DeepMind in 2023.
In a blog post, Microsoft’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, announced that the British AI pioneer, who left DeepMind in 2019, would lead a new organization called Microsoft AI, focusing on the US company’s consumer products and research. Several employees from Suleyman’s startup, Inflection AI, will join the division.
Microsoft has emerged as a key player in generative AI, which instantly produces realistic text, images, or audio from simple typed prompts. This position is bolstered by its significant investment in OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT chatbot.
Nadella stated, “I’ve known Mustafa for several years and have long admired his work as a founder of both DeepMind and Inflection. He is a visionary, product creator, and leader of pioneering teams that pursue ambitious missions.”
The new division consolidates Microsoft’s consumer AI initiatives, including its Copilot chatbot and the new Bing browser, which utilizes the technology behind ChatGPT. Copilot plays a central role in Microsoft’s strategy to monetize its AI endeavors, enabling tasks like email writing, document summarization, and presentation creation.
“This addition of new talent will allow us to once again accelerate our progress,” Nadella stated.
Karen Simonyan, a co-founder of Inflection AI alongside Suleyman and Microsoft board member Reid Hoffman, will join the new division as chief scientist.
Meanwhile, Google is expanding its AI initiatives, with Bloomberg News reporting on Monday that Apple is in discussions to integrate Google’s Gemini AI product into the iPhone.
Inflection AI has emerged as a standout player in the generative AI arena, securing $1.3 billion in funding from Microsoft and chipmaker Nvidia last June, valuing the company at $4 billion.
Suleyman, who was born in north London to a Syrian father and English mother, recently authored a book on AI titled “The Coming Wave.” The book discusses the potential benefits of AI but also raises concerns about its potential threat to global order. Suleyman advocates for a significant increase in the number of researchers focusing on AI safety.
In an interview with the Guardian last year, Suleyman described the book as provocative. He stated, “I think the cool thing about what I’m doing is that I’m predicting something. And I think a lot of people don’t have the courage to predict things. I don’t think I’m wrong, but we do have time to intervene.”
