In a wide-ranging conversation with investors Bill Gurley and Brad Gerstner, Nadella explained that “OpenAI is in some sense the Google, Microsoft, or Meta of this era,” suggesting that the company could shape the AI landscape in the same way those tech giants defined previous generations of computing.

Nadella believes that the early collaboration with OpenAI has given Microsoft a significant edge in the AI race. “We’ve had two years of runway pretty much uncontested,” Nadella explained. “I don’t think there will be ever again maybe a two-year lead like this.”

According to Nadella, the alliance has already helped Microsoft win big cloud customers like Shopify, Stripe, and Spotify – companies that previously used AWS or Google’s services. OpenAI itself has become a relevant cloud customer for Microsoft, Nadella said.

Nadella also chimed in on OpenAI’s new partnership with Apple, which he now seems to welcome, likely because it could boost Microsoft’s cloud revenue even more.

“When Tim [Cook] finally did a deal with Sam [Altman], I was like the most thrilled person,” he said. “It’s better to have ChatGPT get that deal than anybody else because we have that commercial and investor relationship with OpenAI.”

However, sources suggest Nadella initially had reservations about the Apple deal, given Microsoft’s plans to expand its own Copilot services to end users.

As for OpenAI’s future structure, Nadella remains cautious about discussing the planned for-profit reorganization. While Microsoft wants to protect its interests, he said the priority is to maintain the commercial and intellectual property partnership while supporting OpenAI’s plans. The AI company is moving toward becoming a “public benefit corporation.”

https://the-decoder.com/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-sees-openai-as-the-google-microsoft-or-meta-of-this-era/