Smaller firms can still compete in AI depending on product mkt fit: Nadella

By Jackie Davalos

Technology giants Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. may be leading the development of artificial intelligence, but there is still room for competition, Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said.
 

The ability of smaller players to break into AI will “depend on product market fit” and it’s not guaranteed that Microsoft and Alphabet will be “the only two games in town,” Nadella said in an interview with CNBC that aired Tuesday.

Nadella pointed to search as an example of how AI has sparked fresh competition in a space dominated by Google’s engine. 

“Who would have thought? Last year if you were sitting here and somebody had said to you, ‘well, you know what, there will be real contest around search and people may actually even dream that there’s an alternative to Google,” Nadella said, citing Bing and ChatGPT as rising competitors. 

“There are lots of other folks who have entered the search market. That to me ought to be celebrated,” he said.