Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) hit an all-time high of $378.81 on Nov. 20 following a tumultuous weekend for the artificial intelligence sector that involved the ouster of OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman. Not to be outdone, Nvidia (NVDA) stock also hit an all-time high of $499.60, continuing a trend that has seen its stock rise from a one-year low of $138.84.
Both stocks have soared in recent years, with continued growth due to an explosion in the field of AI driven by the emergence of deep learning and generative models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
In the case of Microsoft, many insiders and pundits attribute the late November push to the Redmond corporation’s latest AI hire, former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
As Cointelegraph reported, Altman was fired by the OpenAI board of directors on November 17 in a surprise announcement. He was initially replaced by the company’s CTO, Mira Murati, who was named interim CEO. However, shortly after, Murati was replaced by former Twitch CEO and co-founder Emmett Shear.
First and last time I use one of these pic.twitter.com/u3iKwyWj0a
– Sam Altman (@sama) November 19, 2023
Meanwhile, both Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman have reportedly agreed to head a new AI division at Microsoft, even though the company led by Satya Nadella has invested some $13 billion in OpenAI.
Microsoft stock rose on the news, although gains have been steady for the entire sector for most of 2023. Many other notable AI stocks have demonstrated top-performing performance along with the most notable winners, Microsoft and Nvidia, including IBM and Tencent, which currently sit at five-year and one-month highs respectively at the time of this article’s publication.
Nividia’s historic gains come as the company strengthens its position as the go-to outlet for AI training hardware. The company has the majority of the market due to its graphics processing units (GPUs), a product whose demand has caused prices for flagship models to rise steadily over the past decade.
It remains to be seen whether the November 20 highs will ultimately rise, hold, or falter before the closing bell rings.
Altman’s status at Microsoft is also up in the air. A group made up of the majority of OpenAI employees has written an open letter demanding that the company’s board of directors reinstate the former CEO or face a strike.
In related news: OpenAI investors push for Sam Altman to return as CEO
