Three leading AI researchers—Ali Farhadi, Hanna Hajishirzi and Ranjay Krishna—have left the Allen Institute for AI to join Microsoft’s Superintelligence lab under Mustafa Suleiman. They will retain their academic appointments while now writing code inside Microsoft.
The move is tied to the FFST fund shifting away from generous grants toward competitive applications for applied projects. Researchers, weary of pure theory, see a corporate lab as a faster route to real products.
For Microsoft this recruitment is a strategy to reduce reliance on OpenAI, speed up publications and boost its AI patent portfolio by at least 25 percent. The CEO’s signal is clear: internal R&D is outpacing rivals and practical solutions will soon reach the market.
Why this matters: Executives can expect faster access to cutting‑edge AI tools from Microsoft, less dependence on external providers, and a surge in patented innovations that could reshape competitive dynamics.