Microsoft Hires AI Leader and Sets Sights on Superintelligence

Microsoft continues reshaping its AI strategy. The company has brought in Ali Farhadi as Corporate Vice President, the former CEO of the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) and co-founder of Xnor.ai. Farhadi reports directly to Mustafa Suleyman.

The restructuring splits the Copilot division into four pillars: Copilot experience, Copilot platform, Microsoft 365 apps, and AI models. Ryan Roslansky, Perry Clarke, and Charles Lamanna take over Microsoft 365 apps and the platform, reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella.

Suleyman, recruited from DeepMind and Google, has made it clear that superintelligence is a long-term goal for Microsoft's AI push. This isn't just about better chatbots, but AI that can surpass human expertise across a wide range of domains.

What does this mean for CIOs?

Microsoft's strategic shift toward superintelligence has practical implications. The company signals it will build more AI in-house rather than purchasing capacity from OpenAI. This could mean changes in which models power Copilot products going forward.

Organizations deeply integrated with Microsoft 365 Copilot should monitor whether this restructuring leads to model changes or new features requiring employee retraining.