Microsoft Forms New AI Division to Push Copilot to Consumers

Microsoft is doubling down on its virtual assistant with a new business division called Microsoft AI that will focus on “advancing Copilot and our other consumer AI products and research.”

In a memo, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the new group will help ensure the company has “the capability and capacity to boldly innovate.”

“Let us use this opportunity to build world-class AI products, like Copilot, that are loved by end-users!” Nadella wrote. Hence, users can expect Copilot to pop up even more in the Windows OS, along with the Bing search engine and the Edge browser. 

To lead the Microsoft AI group, Nadella hired Mustafa Suleyman, a co-founder of the AI lab DeepMind, which Google acquired in 2014. Suleyman remained on as an executive at DeepMind, but he was stripped of his duties in 2019 for allegedly bullying employees. 

(Credit: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He then left Google and started a new AI lab called Inflection AI, which he ran as CEO. He and Inflection’s chief scientist, Karén Simonyan, are now jumping ship to help lead Microsoft AI.

Suleyman will become both a Microsoft EVP and run the new Microsoft AI group as CEO. On why he was selected, Nadella said: “I’ve known Mustafa for several years and have greatly admired him as a founder of both DeepMind and Inflection, and as a visionary, product maker, and builder of pioneering teams that go after bold missions.”

Meanwhile, Suleyman noted in a LinkedIn post: “I’ll be leading all consumer AI products and research, including Copilot, Bing and Edge.” Several of his co-workers at Inflection have also decided to migrate to Microsoft, he wrote.  

As for Inflection AI, the company has appointed a new CEO, former Mozilla R&D officer Sean White, to lead the startup. The company raised $1.3 billion last year as it’s been working on its own ChatGPT competitor known as Pi.  

“We are hugely proud of what we’ve achieved with Pi. There will be no immediate changes to the service and we’re committed to ensuring that users get ongoing access to great AI experiences in the future,” Inflection wrote in a statement on the company’s website.