Software provider Microsoft agreed on Monday to invest $1bn in US-based artificial intelligence (AI) research technology provider OpenAI in a bid to enhance its own work on artificial general intelligence (AGI) technology.
Founded in 2015 and overseen by a non-profit organisation, OpenAI is working on research that is intended to harness AI in responsible ways.
The company is most focused on AGI, which could hypothetically combine extremely high-level knowledge of many fields to devise solutions to complex problems hitherto unseen.
Microsoft intends to leverage the partnership to enhance its cloud computing platform, Azure, making it better equipped for use in supercomputing and large-scale AI systems, and allowing it to create and deploy more advanced AI models.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “The creation of AGI will be the most important technological development in human history, with the potential to shape the trajectory of humanity.
“Our mission is to ensure that AGI technology benefits all of humanity, and we are working with Microsoft to build the supercomputing foundation on which we’ll build AGI. We believe it is crucial that AGI is deployed safely and securely and that its economic benefits are widely distributed. We are excited about how deeply Microsoft shares this vision.”
OpenAI has not revealed details of any previous financing but said its backers include venture capital firm Khosla Ventures and the charitable foundation run by Reid Hoffman, co-founder and chairman of professional network LinkedIn.
