Elon Musk is a ‘jerk’ but was a ‘talent magnet’ for OpenAI early on, admits Sam Altman—who now faces direct competition from him

Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, has expressed dissatisfaction with the company's direction and launched a rival A.I. startup, xAI, in July. Musk, who left OpenAI's board in 2018, criticized the company for switching from a non-profit to a "capped profit" model in 2019 and becoming a "closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft." He also questioned how a non-profit he had donated millions to had become a $30B market cap for-profit.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defended the company's partnership with Microsoft and its unconventional path. He acknowledged Musk's significant early contribution to OpenAI but also criticized his style. Musk's new venture, xAI, aims to "understand the true nature of the universe" and has attracted top A.I. talent from Google, DeepMind, Microsoft, and Tesla.

Key takeaways:

Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, has launched a competing A.I. startup called xAI, expressing dissatisfaction with the direction OpenAI has taken.
Musk left OpenAI's board of directors in 2018 and has criticized the company's shift from a nonprofit to a 'capped profit' model, especially after he had donated millions to it.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella dispute Musk's claim that Microsoft effectively controls OpenAI.
Despite their disagreements, Altman acknowledges that learning from Musk has been 'super valuable', although he also described Musk as a 'jerk' in a podcast interview.

Elon Musk is a ‘jerk’ but was a ‘talent magnet’ for OpenAI early on, admits Sam Altman—who now faces direct competition from him

Key takeaways:

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