Microsoft Hires Ai2 CEO Farhadi and Bets on Superintelligence

Microsoft has recruited Ali Farhadi, former CEO of the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2), as a new corporate vice president. Farhadi will report directly to Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI.

The hire is part of a strategic reorganization in which Suleyman is stepping back from day-to-day oversight of Copilot products to lead Microsoft's new Superintelligence team. The team will focus on building frontier AI models in-house, marking a clear ambition to become more self-sufficient in AI model development.

Farhadi brings a strong academic background and experience leading one of the world's most respected AI research institutes. He joins alongside three other high-profile researchers from Ai2 and the University of Washington.

The restructuring sends a clear signal: Microsoft does not want to remain dependent on OpenAI in the long term. Alongside its Azure infrastructure, the company is now building internal capacity to train and operate its own large language models.

For technology leaders, this is an important development to watch. Microsoft's shift toward in-house frontier models could reshape the relationship between the company and OpenAI over time, and affect the pricing and availability of AI services across the Azure platform.