LinkedIn Co-founder Reid Hoffman to Depart Microsoft's Board

Reid Hoffman to Leave Microsoft Board Later This Year

Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and a prominent venture capitalist, will depart from Microsoft Corp.'s board of directors later this year. Hoffman cited his desire to focus on his new artificial intelligence company, Manas, as the reason for his departure.

Manas is a drug-discovery startup that Hoffman has been actively involved with. According to a video posted to his social media accounts, Hoffman expressed his excitement about the progress being made at Manas, stating that he needs to "get back to founder mode." The video features a conversation with Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella.

Hoffman joined Microsoft's board in 2017, following the company's acquisition of LinkedIn, which he co-founded in 2002. During his tenure on the board, Hoffman remained an active investor, including at Greylock, where he serves as a partner. He also played a key role as a link between Microsoft and Silicon Valley AI companies.

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Hoffman's departure from the Microsoft board also marks the end of his involvement with other companies, including OpenAI and Inflection AI. The latter was a startup whose brain trust Microsoft later hired to develop its large language model.

Hoffman faced scrutiny earlier this year after the publication of documents from Jeffrey Epstein, which suggested a long and personal relationship between the two men. However, Hoffman maintained that his connections with Epstein were limited to fundraising, and he welcomed the work being done to expose those who committed crimes. The Justice Department documents do not indicate that Hoffman was aware of Epstein's alleged ongoing crimes, and Hoffman stated that the FBI had cleared him of any wrongdoing.