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 TPBN .

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

Yet, Nadella and the Microsoft team weren’t swayed by the pushback. While Nadella noted that he needed to go through the proper channels and get board approval because of the size of the investment, he said despite the risk, “it was not that hard to convince anyone that this is an important area.”

“We kind of had a

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