Microsoft CEO Injects ‘Sense of Urgency’ Into AI Efforts | PYMNTS.com

As the Financial Times (FT) reported Tuesday (Dec. 30), those changes include an overhaul of Microsoft’s senior leadership as Satya Nadella looks to keep the company ahead in the AI race following the restructuring of its partnership with OpenAI.

The chief executive is reacting to increased competition in the AI space and looking to accelerate progress on developing Microsoft’s AI models and coding tools and applications, more than half a dozen current and former Microsoft executives told the FT.

“Satya is in ‘founder mode’,” said Dee Templeton, deputy chief technology officer at Microsoft, a reference to the hands-on leadership style coined by tech investor Paul Graham.

Sources close to Nadella say he is also focused on the increasing competition from Amazon and Google as those companies make advances in infrastructure and model…