REVENGE OF THE SOFTIES

FOR YEARS, PEOPLE COUNTED MICROSOFT OUT. THEN SATYA NADELLA TOOK CONTROL. AS THE COMPANY TURNS 50, IT'S MORE RELEVANT-AND SCARIER-THAN EVER.

- STEVEN LEVY

JAIME TEEVAN JOINED Microsoft before it was cool again. In 2006, she was completing her doctorate in artificial intelligence at MIT. She had many options but was drawn to the company's respected, somewhat ivory-tower-ish research division. Teevan remained at Microsoft while the mother ship blundered its way through the mobile era.

JAIME TEEVAN CHIEF SCIENTIST

Then, as the calendar flipped into the 2010s, an earth-shattering tech advance emerged. A method of artificial intelligence called deep learning was proving to be a powerful enhancement to software products. Google, Facebook, and others went on a tear to hire machine-learning researchers. Not so much Microsoft. "I don't remember it like a frenzy," Teevan says. "I don't remember drama." That was a problem. Microsoft's focus remained largely on milking its cash cows, Windows and Office.

In 2014, Microsoft surprised people by promoting the ultimate company man, Satya Nadella, to CEO. Nadella had spent 22 years pulling himself up the ranks with his smarts and drive. And his likability. The latter trait was a rarity at the company. Nadella knew its culture intimately, and he knew he had to change it.

Three years later, Teevan became Nadella's third technical adviser-and the first to have a background in AI. Then she became chief scientist, and her task was to imbue the company's products with the AI of the time. In 2019, Nadella made the bold decision to spend $1 billion to partner with OpenAI, the small but trailblazing company that was leading the field. Microsoft was given unbridled access to its technology. It was a risky bet-even experts like Teevan, who'd seen OpenAI's progress over the years, were skeptical that the tech would make much of a difference.