Key takeaways
- Microsoft finally confirmed that they were extending the partnership with OpenAI, the maker of the revolutionary ChatGPT tool. Microsoft Azure will also continue as the exclusive cloud provider for the tool since OpenAI uses Azure to train all of its models.
- The tech giant didn’t give a financial figure, but it’s rumored that the investment will be $10 billion as Microsoft looks to accelerate the breakthroughs in AI to benefit the world, according to a release.
- Artificial intelligence has the potential to change the landscape when it comes to how tech giants compete with each other. Some experts believe there will be a competitive AI landscape as companies seek ways to optimize business operations with machine learning.
Microsoft has finally commented on the rumblings about the $10 billion investment into the OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, after rumors have been swirling for weeks about this colossal financial deal. While Microsoft didn’t confirm the actual financial figure in the press release on Monday, they did announce the partnership between the two companies would be extended.
This recent investment is the third phase of the financial commitment from Microsoft. Previous investments were made in 2019 and 2021 into the AI startup.
We’re going to look at how artificial intelligence will change how Microsoft competes with Google, Apple and other tech giants—and how Q.ai can help you keep abreast of the changes.
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Microsoft extends its partnership with ChatGPT
Microsoft finally confirmed a new multi-year investment in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, in a press release on January 23. When we last wrote about Microsoft’s investment in ChatGPT, it was reported by Semafor that the tech giant was looking to invest an additional $10 billion into the startup. The official release doesn’t confirm or deny the rumored dollar figure, as they only commented on continuing the partnership.
Microsoft noted how they were committed to turning Azure into an AI supercomputer for the entire world. Microsoft Azure is the exclusive cloud provider for every tool under the OpenAI banner.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made the following remark in the release:
“In this next phase of our partnership, developers and organizations across industries will have access to the best AI infrastructure, models and toolchain with Azure to build and run their applications.”
Just as a quick reminder, ChatGPT is the chatbot released late last year by OpenAI, a company that Elon Musk and Sam Altman originally founded. This revolutionary tool reported one million users at the beginning of December after being out for about a week. The program uses OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 language mode, an upgraded model version released in 2020.
What does this partnership mean for ChatGPT?
Microsoft Azure will continue to be the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI, and it will power the workloads of research, products and API services. This next round of funding was initially rumored to include Microsoft and other investors, bringing the total valuation of the AI startup all the way to $29 billion.
It’s worth mentioning that Microsoft has already invested in OpenAI at earlier stages. There was an original investment of $1 billion into the San Francisco-based startup back in 2019. Since that time, Microsoft silently invested another $2 billion into the company, according to industry sources.
How important is this AI investment for Microsoft?
Microsoft launched Microsoft Designer, a graphic design app that uses AI-based technology to create art and social media images from scratch. They also announced a partnership with Meta to provide the workplace of the future.
However, it’s worth bringing up that this unique partnership with ChatGPT comes just a week after Microsoft announced that they would eliminate 10,000 positions globally. While the company has stated that the cuts would allow them to priotiize focus on the field of AI, it’s clear that Microsoft is taking a huge risk on this field.
What’s the potential of ChatGPT?
Even though the new AI-powered chatbot has only been around for a few months, it has already started to make major waves. Here’s a look at some of the potential of ChatGPT.
Generative AI is changing the landscape
According to a recent report in the New York Times, Microsoft is relying on its strong financial position and the power of the AI tools created by openAI to be at the forefront of generative artificial intelligence. This refers to technology that can generate text, images, social media posts and other media from short text reports.
In shocking news, it was revealed that ChatGPT passed an MBA exam given by a Wharton professor. Teachers have been reporting that students are using the AI-powered tool to write essays. Many companies have started using the tool to create content as the list of uses teeters between fun and functional.
The paid version of ChatGPT is coming
OpenAI recently revealed what many were expecting, that they will monetize the tool and offer a professional version. The premium version would be called ChatGPT Professional, and it would come with no unavailability time, faster responses and unlimited messages. The pricing hasn’t been announced yet, as the waiting list is more of a survey about the possible price points. However, as many businesses and users start to rely on this tool, it’s clear that monetization could be massively successful.
ChatGPT could be the “iPhone moment” for AI
While the ChatGPT tool hasn’t directly impacted Apple yet, many experts consider the release of this product the “iPhone moment” for AI in the sense that the capabilities of machine learning are coming to the forefront of the public consciousness. Ever since the iPhone came out in 2007, it has changed how fast and productive a smartphone can be, and ChatGPT could do the same for artificial intelligence.
AI will change how Microsoft competes with Google and other tech giants
Why is Microsoft allocating so much capital toward this AI startup? Here’s how AI will change how Microsoft competes with other tech giants.
The AI competitive landscape is heating up
Notable tech giants like Alphabet and Amazon have already been investing billions of dollars into the field of AI-related research. Alphabet recently revealed that they were laying off 12,000 employees globally and shifting the company’s focus towards AI. Google’s management even declared a “code red” as there are concerns that the chatbot could replace search engines. With digital ads bringing in more than 80% of Alphabet’s revenue last year, it’s not likely that they’ll want to replace the search engine with a chatbot anytime soon.
Microsoft is looking to improve its search engine
As we all have witnessed, Google took over the search engine field to the point that the brand name is synonymous with searching for something online. Microsoft has its own search engine, but Bing isn’t as popular as Google by any stretch.
Reports have indicated that Microsoft hopes to launch a Bing feature that would incorporate the ChatGPT technology into its search engines to provide better user results. If Microsoft can finally gain some movement in the search engine space, this would give Google some much-needed competition and it could change how the average person surfs the web.
Major companies are still concerned about the consequences
As impressive as this AI-powered technology is, we can’t ignore the possible consequences of these tools. Microsoft, Meta, Google, and other tech firms are concerned about releasing such products due to the potential damage that could be caused to the respected brands.
According to reports, Google is mainly worried about safety, handling misinformation, and accuracy when it comes to releasing a competing chatbot. As revolutionary as the new chatbot is, the reality is that the product is far from perfect, and some issues need to be cleared up before such an innovation is ready for the broader market.
How should you be investing?
The headlines are rather confusing as in one article, you read about how Microsoft is laying off thousands of employees worldwide, and then in the next story, you see that the tech giant is investing billions of dollars into a startup that hasn’t made any money yet. This makes it challenging to figure out how to invest your money, especially considering everything else that’s happening in the economy.
The good news is that Q.ai takes the guesswork out of investing. You don’t have to look any further to see the power of AI in action, as Q.ai uses AI to offer investment options for those who don’t want to be tracking the stock market daily. We urge you to check out our Emerging Tech Kit if you’re a proponent of innovative technology.
The bottom line
With Microsoft finally confirming the recent extension of its partnership with OpenAI, it looks like further updates to this tool can be expected in the near future. It will be exciting to see how Microsoft utilizes this technology in its suite of products and if the company can monetize this new tool.
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