DeepMind, Inflection AI to Microsoft AI CEO: Who is Mustafa Suleyman

Mustafa Suleyman has co-founded two AI firms, a global social impact company, and established a mental health support helpline. Here is everything you need to know about Microsoft AI's next CEO

Mustafa Suleyman, a prominent figure in the AI and technology sphere, has recently been appointed to lead a new group at Microsoft, overseeing all consumer AI initiatives, including the Copilot chatbot. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Suleyman shared his new appointment and shift from Inflection AI, along with one of his co-founders Karén Simonyan.

Suleyman wrote, "I'm excited to announce that today I'm joining Microsoft as CEO of Microsoft AI. I'll be leading all consumer AI products and research, including Copilot, Bing and Edge. My friend and longtime collaborator Karén Simonyan will be Chief Scientist, and several of our amazing teammates have chosen to join us.

"Inflection AI will continue on its mission under a new CEO, and look to reach more people than ever by making its API widely available to developers and businesses the world over," he added.

Mustafa Suleyman: Background & achievements

Suleyman was born in 1984 in London to a Syrian father and an English mother. His journey into the tech world began after leaving Oxford University at the age of 19. He co-founded the Muslim Youth Helpline in 2001, a mental health support service for Muslims in the UK, before delving into policy work on human rights for the Mayor of London.

Suleyman established Reos Partners in 2007 as a consultancy firm focused on systemic change. The company has worked with organisations such as the United Nations, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Dutch government.

Recognised for his contributions, Suleyman serves as a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and is involved in the World Economic Forum's AI Governance Alliance. He was also named one of the most influential people in AI by Time Magazine in 2023.

Since June 2019, Suleyman has also served on the board of The Economist Group as a non-executive director.

In September 2023, Suleyman published his book "The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma." Since then the book has become a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, and has ben translated in 32 languages.

DeepMind Technologies

Suleyman co-founded DeepMind Technologies in 2010, which went on to become a leading AI company with backing from notable investors, including Elon Musk. Following its acquisition by Google in 2014 for a staggering 400 million pounds, Suleyman served as vice-president of AI Products and AI Policy, contributing to innovations like the Gemini generative AI model and energy-efficient data centre cooling solutions.

Inflection AI

In 2022, Suleyman co-founded Inflection AI, a tech company which develops machine learning and gen AI hardware and apps, with Karén Simonyan and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. Inflection AI's chatbot "Pi" aims to provide personalised interactions and emotional support to users. The company is valued at $4 billion and has raised $1.5 billion so far.

Suleyman will be leaving his post as CEO of Inflection AI to take on this new role at Microsoft.