Inside why Bill Gates expected Microsoft to burn $1B on OpenAI — and how the bet paid off far beyond that

Satya Nadella looking sad with raining money.

In 2024, a report claimed that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still intimately involved in the company's affairs despite stepping down from the board to focus on philanthropy. It further revealed that the executive's word is treated as the gospel and that he played a crucial role in fostering Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership.

Interestingly, a separate report revealed that Bill Gates was initially skeptical about Microsoft investing $1 billion in OpenAI, primarily because of its non-profit structure. "You're going to burn this billion dollars," warned Gates.