Nadella feared Microsoft would become “the next IBM”, documents reveal

Satya Nadella testified that Microsoft’s 13 billion dollar investment in OpenAI was driven by fear of becoming “the next IBM,” revealing that the partnership was a strategic survival hedge backed by a projected 92 billion dollar return. Internal documents show Microsoft viewed OpenAI not as a nonprofit mission but as a commercial engine that could determine the company’s future relevance. The testimony highlights how the nonprofit structure around OpenAI functioned mostly on paper while the real power and value concentrated in the for‑profit entity. Nadella’s statements make clear that Microsoft invested to avoid irrelevance, not to advance AI safety.

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