OpenAI has hired the person who oversaw mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-related corporations at Google.
According to The Information, a U.S. information technology (IT) outlet, on the 15th, OpenAI said it has hired Albert Lee, senior director who led corporate development for Google Cloud and DeepMind, and appointed Lee as a vice president. Since 2011, Vice President Lee has handled corporate development at Google for about 14 years and, in particular, led multibillion-dollar deals to acquire cybersecurity corporation Mandiant and data analytics platform Looker, strengthening the Google Cloud foundation.
In the Google DeepMind institutional sector, he also carried out several "acqui-hire" deals, acquiring startups to secure talent. He has also served as an adviser to CapitalG, Alphabet's independent fund, scouting startups to invest in. An OpenAI representative said of Lee's hiring, "It is to secure a senior leader with a broad perspective across the company and the authority to make quick decisions."
Accordingly, Vice President Lee is expected at OpenAI to lead efforts to identify and acquire promising corporations to strengthen the ChatGPT platform or to secure in-house talent. After joining OpenAI, Vice President Lee will report to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sarah Friar.
Last month, OpenAI hired Torben Severinson from Amazon as executive vice president of business development. The Information said Vice President Severinson will primarily handle strategic partnerships, while Vice President Lee will mainly oversee M&A.
Recently, major technology corporations have been competing to secure AI talent by offering salaries of more than $100 million or outright buying startups. OpenAI has also moved to tighten controls, including removing the tenure requirement needed for employees to receive stock options, to prevent the outflow of hard-recruited talent.