Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has revealed that Bill Gates initially advised him against investing in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Speaking on the tech-focused YouTube show TPBN, Nadella said that securing board approval for the investment was not easy.
“Even at Microsoft, you have to get board approval to throw a billion dollars out there,” he said. “Remember, this was a nonprofit, and I think Bill even said, ‘Yeah, you’re going to burn this billion dollars,’” he added.
Despite the skepticism, Nadella pushed forward, believing in AI’s transformative potential. “It was not that hard to convince anyone that this is an important area and it’s going to be risky,” he said.
Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI
Microsoft made its first $1 billion investment in OpenAI in 2019 and has since poured over $13 billion into the company. Reflecting on that decision, Nadella noted, “I didn’t put in a billion dollars thinking it would be a hundred bagger. We just had a high risk tolerance and wanted to give it a shot.”
Super fun conversation with @jordihays and @johncoogan. Thanks for bringing @tbpn to GitHub Universe! Work's not done! pic.twitter.com/wf0PrpBZ4M
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) October 28, 2025
That “shot” turned out to be one of the most consequential bets in tech history. OpenAI became a global phenomenon after launching ChatGPT in November 2022. It gained a million users within five days of its launch.
Today, ChatGPT’s reach is immense with more than 800 million people using it weekly, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said during the company’s DevDay event on October 6.
Restructuring as Public Benefit Corporation
OpenAI recently struck a major deal with Microsoft to restructure itself as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). The agreement, announced on October 29, strengthens Altman’s leadership and allows OpenAI greater freedom to raise capital.
The move also reshapes OpenAI’s long-standing partnership with Microsoft, which originally exchanged cloud infrastructure for exclusive access to AI research.