Altman drama: twist in seven-year Microsoft, OpenAI relationship

Microsoft's hiring of ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Monday marks another twist in the seven-year-old partnership between the US giant and the startup that created ChatGPT.

Here a key moments in the history of their partnership:

Founded as a non-profit

OpenAI is founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs and investors, including Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and Tesla chief Elon Musk.

It is established as a not-for-profit organization that publishes open source research and software available to all.

Teams up with Microsoft

Musk quits the project in 2018 following clashes with the board of directors.

Altman transforms OpenAI into a "capped profit" company and seeks new investors.

Microsoft injects $1 billion

In 2019, Microsoft invests $1 billion in OpenAI, largely in the form of computing credits, in exchange for a role in ...