In a stunning revelation, Microsoft’s AI executive Mustafa Suleyman claims that Google was on the brink of launching its own chatbot, LaMDA, right before OpenAI's ChatGPT took the world by storm in late 2022.

Speaking on the CatGPT podcast, Suleyman, who co-founded DeepMind and worked at Google during this pivotal time, disclosed that LaMDA was actually considered a major breakthrough, potentially rivaling ChatGPT. However, internal challenges led to its delay.

"We got frustrated at Google because we couldn’t launch LaMDA," Suleyman said, underscoring the missed opportunity.

He described LaMDA as 'ChatGPT before ChatGPT,' noting that it was the first truly conversational large language model (LLM) that left a lasting impression on its testers within Google.

However, not everyone at Google was on board; many were skeptical of LaMDA’s safety, fearing it could produce hallucinations and undermine their existing search business.

Suleyman explained, "Probably half the people were just brutal skeptics, thinking this technology would never be safe. But the other half believed it could redefine search and user interaction on the web."

Despite these divisions, Google struggled to push through with LaMDA's release, leading Suleyman to leave and co-found Inflection AI with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman before later joining Microsoft in 2024.

"We raised a billion and a half dollars to build a massive GPU cluster," he added, referring to their ambitious plans.

Although Inflection AI launched its own model, Personal Intelligence, in January 2023, Suleyman candidly admitted, "By that time, you know basically all bets were off; OpenAI had already exploded onto the scene."

The Ripple Effect of Missed Opportunities

Suleyman’s insights underscore how close Google was to a significant leap in generative AI and the fine lines in technological timelines. While OpenAI’s success has catalyzed a rush in AI advancements, Google promptly pivoted its focus, led by CEO Sundar Pichai.

In a frenzy of activity dubbed ‘code red’ in December 2022, Google refocused its resources towards AI, launching products like Bard and more recently, the Gemini AI range.

This shift highlights how quickly the tech landscape can change and how a single decision can alter the course of innovation.

Stay tuned for more exciting insights into the ever-evolving world of AI as we follow these groundbreaking developments.