How Satya Nadella-led Microsoft plans to win the AI race
What's the story
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has overhauled the company's senior leadership team as part of a broader strategy to strengthen its position in artificial intelligence (AI). The move comes amid growing competition and a shift in Microsoft's long-standing partnership with OpenAI. The restructuring is aimed at accelerating the development of proprietary AI models, enhancing coding tools, and improving AI-powered applications.
Changes
High-profile appointments and promotions
The leadership overhaul has seen high-profile appointments and promotions, including former Meta engineering head Jay Parikh. He now leads Microsoft's CoreAI division. LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and commercial chief Judson Althoff have also been promoted to more influential roles within the company. These changes are part of Nadella's vision to make Microsoft a leader in AI technology development.
Leadership style
Nadella's 'founder mode' leadership approach
Under Nadella's leadership, his style is now being termed as 'Founder Mode.' This means fewer layers, quicker approvals, and direct involvement from the CEO. Senior leaders have been clearly told to either align with the AI vision or step aside.
Market competition
Microsoft's AI products still lag behind competitors
Microsoft faces tough competition in the AI space. Google and OpenAI's products have a much larger user base than Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant, which has around 150 million monthly users. Google's Gemini AI already has around 650 million active users while OpenAI's ChatGPT has crossed 800 million users. This highlights the pressure on Microsoft to catch up with its competitors in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.