Reid Hoffman announced in June 2026 that he is stepping down from Microsoft’s board of directors after nearly a decade, shifting his focus to Manus, an AI drug discovery startup where he serves as co-founder and chairman.
Hoffman joined Microsoft’s board in 2016 following the company’s $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn, which he co-founded. During his tenure, he was on the board when Microsoft made its first $1 billion investment in OpenAI in 2019 and when the company entered a $650 million deal with AI startup Inflection AI — a venture Hoffman co-founded — through which Microsoft hired Inflection co-founder Mustafa Suleiman.
Hoffman had also served on OpenAI’s board until 2023, when he stepped down citing conflicts of interest.
Speaking on his “Possible” podcast alongside Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Hoffman said he wants to go “founder mode” with Manus. “One of the things I realized over the last month was that, we’re seeing such progress with Manus. I need to get back to founder mode,” he said.
Manus raised over $50 million across two seed rounds last year, with Hoffman and General Catalyst among its investors. The company’s CEO is Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, a physician, biologist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the 2011 book “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.”
Hoffman described Manus as working toward what he called “Move 37” AI — artificial intelligence that surpasses human creativity in chemistry, particularly in efforts to combat various cancers.
The departure marks a significant shift for Hoffman, who has been closely tied to Microsoft through multiple high-profile deals. His renewed focus on Manus suggests the startup may be entering a more active phase of development.
Source: TechCrunch