Business magnate Harsh Goenka expresses appreciation for Satya Nadella's response to Elon Musk's taunt regarding GPT-5.
In a significant turn of events, the tech world witnessed an exchange between Elon Musk, CEO of xAI, and Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, on August 7, 2025. The catalyst for this interaction was the rollout of OpenAI's GPT-5 integration across Microsoft platforms such as Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI Foundry.
Musk's response was a blunt warning: "OpenAI is going to eat Microsoft alive." His comment reflected his competitive stance, as xAI had recently launched its own AI product, Grok 5, to rival OpenAI's models.
Nadella, however, chose a different approach. Instead of seeing it as a threat, he framed the interaction as part of the natural, ongoing process of technology advancement. In a masterclass of leadership, he responded by emphasising a long history of innovation and competition in the technology field, saying, "People have been trying for 50 years, and that's the fun of it! Each day you learn something new and innovate, partner, and compete."
This exchange transformed into a "celebration of learning, innovation, and partnership." Nadella highlighted the collaborative progress made with OpenAI in just two and a half years since Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, joined Microsoft to debut GPT-4.
Industry observers like billionaire Harsh Goenka praised Nadella’s composed and visionary response as a “masterclass” in leadership. They recognised how it turned a potentially confrontational moment into an optimistic recognition of shared technological progress.
GPT-5, the latest AI model from OpenAI, was launched on Thursday. It offers enhanced customisation, improved voice mode, and long-term memory, as well as the ability to process voice, images, and real-time conversations. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, compared the launch of GPT-5 to the Manhattan Project.
Interestingly, Altman described GPT-5's capabilities as "not human scale kind of power." Despite this, he felt "useless relative to the AI" while testing GPT-5.
As for Grok 4 and Grok 5, the specific details were not provided. However, Nadella expressed excitement for Grok 4 on Azure and looked forward to Grok 5.
This refreshing response from Nadella not only showcases the exciting future of AI development within a competitive yet cooperative ecosystem but also sets a positive example for future interactions in the tech industry.
The exchange between Elon Musk and Satya Nadella further highlighted the competitive nature of the AI industry, with Musk warning that OpenAI may overtake Microsoft, while Nadella emphasized the ongoing process of technological advancement, stating, "People have been trying for 50 years, and that's the fun of it! Each day you learn something new and innovate, partner, and compete."
Nadella's composure and visionary response, framing the interaction as a celebration of learning and partnership, was praised by industry observers, setting a positive example for future interactions in the tech industry. This approach, along with the development and launch of OpenAI's GPT-5 and xAI's Grok 5, continually advances the field of artificial-intelligence technology.
