Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says Bill Gates told him his big bet on OpenAI would be a flop: ‘Yeah, you’re going to burn this billion dollars’

OpenAI is now the world’s most valuable private company, but when Microsoft originally invested $1 billion in the startup in 2019, it was less than a sure bet.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella faced pushback even from the company’s cofounder and original CEO, Bill Gates, he recalled during an interview on tech-focused YouTube channel TBPN.

“Remember this was a nonprofit, and I think Bill [Gates] even said, ‘Yeah, you’re going to burn this billion dollars,’” Nadella said.

Yet...