Microsoft’s Nadella Reveals Windows Creator Gates Warned Early AI Investment in OpenAI Could Be Like Burning $1 B

In a recent interview, Satya Nadella disclosed that his predecessor, Bill Gates, was skeptical about OpenAI back in 2019. When Microsoft made its initial $1 billion investment in the startup, Gates reportedly told Nadella it might be “like burning this billion dollars.” Microsoft went on to invest over $13 billion in OpenAI. Nadella reflected that at the time, the decision carried high risk — even within Microsoft: “Even at Microsoft, you kind of got to have to get a board approval to just go throw a billion dollars out there… it was not that hard to convince anyone that this is an important area and it’s going to be risky.” In retrospect, what once seemed high‑risk has become perhaps one of the tech bets of the decade — with OpenAI reaching hundreds of millions of users and Microsoft holding roughly a 27 % stake in its for‑profit arm. #Microsoft #OpenAI #AIinvestment #TechBet #SlimScan #GrowthStocks #CANSLIM