Friends From the Old Neighborhood Turn Rivals in Big Tech’s A.I. Race

Demis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman, both from London, are leading the race to build artificial intelligence at Google and Microsoft respectively. Hassabis, a chess prodigy and video game designer, is the CEO of Google DeepMind, while Suleyman, who grew up in subsidized housing, is the CEO of Microsoft AI. The two were among the three founders of DeepMind, an AI research lab acquired by Google for $650 million in 2014.

Their paths diverged after a clash at DeepMind, with Suleyman founding another AI start-up, Inflection AI, which struggled before Microsoft hired him and most of his team. Despite their different paths, Suleyman describes their relationship as a "friendly and respectful rivalry," and both agree on the significance of AI as the next great transition in technology.

Key takeaways:

Demis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman, both from London, are leading figures in the tech industry's race to build artificial intelligence.
Hassabis is the chief executive of Google DeepMind, while Suleyman is the chief executive of Microsoft AI.
They were two of the three founders of DeepMind, an A.I. research lab that Google acquired for $650 million in 2014.
Their paths diverged after a clash at DeepMind, with Suleyman founding another A.I. start-up, Inflection AI, before being hired by Microsoft.

Friends From the Old Neighborhood Turn Rivals in Big Tech’s A.I. Race

Key takeaways:

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