Microsoft Writes $1 Billion for GAI (Artificial General Intelligence)
The AI research organization OpenAI has signed on to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform for its mission of enabling Artificial General Intelligence (GAI). GAI was conceived to make computers think more like humans. For that, it received $1 billion investment from Microsoft.
OpenAI, co-founded by Elon Musk and other wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud services to train and run the group’s A.I. software. The two will also jointly develop supercomputing technology, and Microsoft will be OpenAI’s preferred partner to commercialize its creations, the companies said in a statement on Monday.
OpenAI started in 2015 with much fanfare. Industry luminaries including Musk and Peter Thiel committed at least $1 billion to the nonprofit to build A.I. that could match or improve on the technology being developed by tech giants such as Google, Facebook Inc. and Microsoft. However, Musk said he left OpenAI’s board last year over disagreements about some of the group’s plans. More recently, OpenAI started a for-profit arm to help it raise more money.
The singularity is near!