Satya Nadella enters founder mode as Microsoft races to maintain AI dominance amid rising competition

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 development. The report notes that while Microsoft 365's AI assistant Copilot has topped 150 million monthly active users, that's still short of the numbers enjoyed by Google (650 million) and OpenAI (800 million) for their chatbots. "Satya is trying to demonstrate a sense of urgency," said one Microsoft executive. "The goal is to get out of some of the structures that exist and make the route to him easier." The FT adds that Microsoft achieved an early edge in AI thanks to its multi-billion dollar investment in OpenAI, getting access to that company's technology and data center contracts. However, Microsoft will lose access to OpenAI's research and has given up exclusivity over its data center needs under the new deal struck with OpenAI in October. The report follows a similar story by The Information last week which said Nadella was unhappy with the company's progress on Copilot and had begun taking a more hands-on approach. In other artificial intelligence news, PYMNTS recently looked back on the year in agentic AI, pointing to PYMNTS Intelligence research showing that in May, 85% of chief financial officers surveyed said they had no plans to implement agentic AI. But by July, newer findings showed agentic AI moving from discussions to testing at a small but increasing number of companies, with strict guardrails around scope and authority. "That pattern now defines the early playbook for banks and payment providers," PYMNTS wrote. "Agents are being deployed into money-adjacent workflows, such as exceptions handling, invoice matching, collections support and dispute triage, where errors are visible and reversible. Institutions that can safely orchestrate these use cases and align controls to client readiness are moving first."

The AI Evangelist: Satya Nadella's High-Stakes Transformation of Microsoft

How Satya Nadella Is Betting Microsoft's Future on Artificial Intelligence In the boardrooms and hallways of Microsoft's Redmond headquarters, a new mantra has taken hold: adapt to the AI revolution or step aside. Satya Nadella is pushing his executives with intensity and urgency, demanding that his leadership team either embrace the grueling pace of artificial intelligence development or consider their future elsewhere. For a CEO known for his empathetic leadership style, this represents a dramatic shift, one that reveals just how seriously Nadella views the stakes of the AI race. Since becoming CEO in 2014, Nadella has orchestrated one of the most remarkable corporate transformations in tech history, growing Microsoft's market value tenfold to over $3 trillion. Yet despite this success, he carries the scars of Microsoft's past failures, the missed opportunities in mobile phones, tablets, and web browsers that allowed competitors to surge ahead. He knows from experience that when a paradigm shifts, companies without relevant contributions lose their right to exist. That historical awareness drives Nadella's current all-in bet on AI. Over five years, he has committed $13 billion to OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, even before it turned profitable. He absorbed most of Inflection AI's staff in a $650 million deal, entrusting cofounder Mustafa Suleyman with billions of dollars of Microsoft's business. These aren't cautious hedges; they're bold wagers from a leader who understands that hesitation in technology's inflection points can prove fatal. The intensity of Nadella's AI push has reshaped Microsoft's internal culture. He recently created a new CEO of Commercial Business position, appointing Judson Althoff to the role, allowing himself to concentrate exclusively on what he calls the company's highest ambition, technical work. In internal memos, he's direct about expectations, telling teams they must rapidly learn new skills and adopt new working methods. Some veteran executives now face a stark choice: embrace the relentless pace or leave. This urgency extends beyond mere executive pressure. Nadella launched weekly AI accelerator meetings and dedicated Teams channels, where junior technical fellows, not traditional executives, are encouraged to share innovative ideas. Capital expenditures have surged, with the company spending $14 billion in early 2024 alone on GPUs and data centers, and costs expected to keep rising through 2025.

After OpenAI's code red, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella enters into founder mode to beat AI rivals

The tech giant hired Jay Parikh, the former head of engineering at Meta, and also promoted some senior executives. OpenAI recently went into a code red mode after Google released Gemini 3. Now, it seems like the pressure is being felt across the tech industry, especially at Microsoft. As competition in AI grows, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has stepped into what is described as "founder mode" to make sure the company stays ahead. Over the past year, Nadella has reshaped Microsoft's top leadership team. The tech giant hired Jay Parikh, the former head of engineering at Meta. Nadella also promoted some senior executives, such as commercial chief Judson Althoff and LinkedIn chief executive Ryan Roslansky, whose platform is owned by Microsoft. Also read: Oppo Find X9s leaks: Launch timeline, camera, battery, processor and other details Current and former Microsoft executives say these decisions show Nadella's desire to move faster, reports Firstpost. The goal is to improve AI-powered software and strengthen coding tools. Companies like Amazon and Google, once seen as behind in AI, have made significant advances in infrastructure and model development. "Satya is in 'founder mode'," said Dee Templeton, Microsoft's deputy chief technology officer, using a term popularised by Silicon Valley investor Paul Graham to describe a more hands-on leadership approach. Also read: Realme 16 Pro series India launch set for next week: Expected specs and price Microsoft's early AI advantage came from its $14bn investment in OpenAI, which gave it access to ChatGPT's technology and priority use of powerful data centres. That partnership helped Microsoft move quickly while others were still experimenting. However, the relationship is changing. After a restructuring of the partnership with OpenAI in October, Microsoft gave up exclusive rights to host OpenAI's data centre needs. In the longer term, the company is also expected to lose exclusive access to OpenAI's research and models in the early 2030s.