In a recent exchange at Dealbook Summit, Google CEO Sundar Pichai responded directly to remarks made earlier this year by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Nadella had questioned Google’s position in the increasingly competitive AI arms race, suggesting that the company should be further advanced given its resources.
During the summit, Pichai was asked about Nadella’s criticism, particularly those said in March, when Nadella argued that Google, with its substantial assets from data to silicon and models, is well-positioned to lead the AI race. However, he said Microsoft had not yet seen Google as the dominant player in the sector. “Google should have been the default winner in the world of big tech’s AI race,” Nadella had said.
Pichai, in response, enthusiastically embraced the challenge, stating, “I’d love to do a side-by-side comparison of Microsoft’s own models and our models any day, any time.” He further emphasized that while Microsoft was relying on external models, Google had developed its own large language models (LLMs) to power its AI and search products, citing its Gemini series as an example. Pichai’s remarks marked a confident rebuttal to Nadella’s assertions, underscoring Google’s strong position in AI development despite some earlier setbacks in the AI product space.
The exchange further brought to light the growing tensions between these two tech giants in the artificial intelligence space. The AI-driven tool market has witnessed immense momentum since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT in late 2022, and Microsoft has capitalized on its alliance with OpenAI to infuse the capabilities of the LLM into Bing search. Google, however, has been concentrating on refining its LLMs, which power its conversational AI models, keeping abreast with the latest developments in the sector.
This public back-and-forth comes amidst a broader escalation in the AI arms race between tech companies. In October, Microsoft accused Google of engaging in “shadow campaigns” in Europe aimed at undermining its position with regulators, further intensifying the rivalry. Microsoft has not yet commented on Pichai’s latest remarks. Despite the competitive rhetoric, Pichai showed respect for Microsoft’s efforts and team, suggesting that there is a spirit of collaboration in the tech industry even as both companies compete to dominate AI.
