Will Stability AI’s former CEO, Emad Mostaque, join Microsoft?

Initial reports suggest he won’t be joining soon

3 min. read

Published onMarch 28, 2024

published onMarch 28, 2024

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The tech world has been buzzing of late with developments in the field of AI and top minds switching companies.Emad Mostaque’srecent video call with Microsoft’s CEO,Satya Nadella, has set off speculations of the former joining the Redmond-based tech giant.

Emad Mostaquewas the CEO and co-founder ofStability AI, one of the first companies to foray into artificial intelligence. Its contributions include the popularStable Diffusionmodel used forgenerating images from text.

In thepress release, Mostaque cited exploring different avenues for the decentralization of AI as the reason for stepping down from the position.

What led to Emad Mostaque’s departure from Stability AI?

Reports claim thatEmadis reportedly upset with the commercialization of AI and wants to work on decentralized AI, one that’s accessible to all. Hiscomment onX(formerly Twitter) post-resignation confirms the same.

Not going to beat centralized AI with more centralized AI.All in on#DecentralizedAILots more ?https://t.co/SbEF5zoo05

Others cite the series of resignations atStability AIas the reason. Days beforeEmad Mostaquestepped down, areport by Forbesrevealed that key members, including three of the five researchers who helped develop theStable Diffusionmodel, had quit the company, putting the generative AI startup’s future in jeopardy.

Finally, some do believe that it has to do with Microsoft’s hunt for talent in the world of AI. The Redmond-based tech giant recentlyhired DeepMind co-founderMustafa Suleymanto head the newMicrosoft AIdivision. Along withSuleyman, Microsoft roped in a few more executives fromReflective AI, includingKarén Simonyan.

WithEmad Mostaque’sresignation and a picture of the video call withSatya Nadellacoming around the same time, people were confused.

pic.twitter.com/bAoPCMil3w

It signalled thatMostaqueis joining Microsoft, and his subsequentpost onX(formerly Twitter)didn’t help either.Emadwrote,

The road ahead for Emad Mostaque and Microsoft

As it turns out,Emad Mostaqueis not joining Microsoft, at least not anytime soon. He clarified this in anotherpost onXon the same day.

I’m just messing with you all, I’m doing my own thing(s)But@satyanadellais the ? of CEOs, amazing leaderMicrosoft is also one of the leading open source companies globally & there are great teams in Microsoft Research like the wizard & phi teams pumping out great models

It seems likeMostaqueis setting up something new, one that will most likely aid decentralization in AI, an idea close to his heart.

Mostaqueis hailed as a vocal proponent of AI’s open-source nature. Someone of his calibre would have found a place at Microsoft, especially at a time when Microsoft is battling Apple and Google to win the AI race. Of the three, Microsoft is the biggest player right now, but the other two are doubling down fast!

The tech giant’s push for artificial intelligence is getting more extensive as it continues addingAI-powered features in Windowsand native platforms likeMicrosoft Advertising. Microsoft has avision for an AI PCthat lets you perform AI-related tasks locally without relying on online services.

Do you believeEmad Mostaqueshould join Microsoft or continue working on decentralized AI? Share your thoughts with our readers in the comments section.

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Will Stability AI’s former CEO, Emad Mostaque, join Microsoft?#

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Microsoft will raise the price of its 365 Suite to include AI capabilities

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Outlook will let users create custom account icons so they can tell their accounts apart easier

Will Stability AI’s former CEO, Emad Mostaque, join Microsoft?

What led to Emad Mostaque’s departure from Stability AI?

The road ahead for Emad Mostaque and Microsoft