tech
Reid Hoffman leaves Microsoft board to go 'founder mode' with AI drug startup Manus
Reid Hoffman is leaving Microsoft’s board after a decade to focus on Manus, his AI drug discovery startup. The company has raised over $50 million.
TL;DR
- Reid Hoffman is stepping down from Microsoft's board of directors after almost ten years.
- He is returning to focus on his AI-powered drug discovery startup, Manus.
- Hoffman joined the Microsoft board in 2016 following Microsoft's acquisition of LinkedIn.
- His tenure included Microsoft's significant investments in OpenAI.
- Hoffman also served on OpenAI's board until 2023, citing potential conflicts of interest.
- Conflicts increased following Microsoft's acqui-hire deal with Inflection AI, co-founded by Hoffman.
- Manus has raised over $50 million and is backed by General Catalyst.
- Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee is the CEO of Manus.
- Hoffman plans to be more hands-on with Manus, aiming for 'founder mode'.
- Manus is working on 'Move 37' AI, which supersedes human creativity, applied to drug discovery for diseases like cancer.
- The AI drug discovery field is rapidly heating up, with companies like ByteDance and Google DeepMind also active.