Microsoft Recruits Google DeepMind Co-Founder Mustafa Suleyman to Lead AI Unit as CEO

Microsoft Corporation said on Tuesday, March 19, that it hired the co-founder of DeepMind Technologies Limited, Mustafa Suleyman, to be the chief executive officer of its new artificial intelligence (AI) business unit. The British-American artificial intelligence research laboratory is also known as Google DeepMind after it was acquired by the tech firm in 2014.

According to CNBC, Microsoft confirmed that Suleyman will lead its Copilot AI initiatives. The newly hired executive will also become an executive vice president in addition to his CEO role at Microsoft AI. He is expected to report directly to Microsoft's chief, Satya Nadella.

Leaders in the New Microsoft AI

Nadella said that aside from Suleyman, Karén Simonyan, co-founder and chief scientist at Inflection, is also joining the company to help form the new Microsoft AI organization. He said this unit will focus on advancing the company's Copilot generative AI and our other artificial intelligence products.

As Microsoft AI's EVP and CEO, Suleyman will join the firm's senior leadership team (SLT). Simonyan, on the other hand, is joining the team as chief scientist and will report to the newly appointed chief.

"I have 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," Nadella said in the announcement.

Boosting Microsoft's AI Products

Bloomberg reported that Microsoft's CEO has been overhauling the company's major products in the past year. His recent work has focused chiefly on artificial intelligence technology, and the formation of Microsoft AI is one of his latest projects as part of the firm's AI push.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's hiring of Suleyman and Simonyan is another significant step in further boosting its in-house AI capabilities and technologies.

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