GoKawiilMicrosoft said Friday that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, is leaving the software company's board of directors after almost a decade.
Hoffman, 58, informed the board of his decision not to run for reelection on Tuesday, Microsoft said in a filing. He will remain a director until Microsoft's annual meeting, which will be held at the end of the year.
After starting LinkedIn in 2002 and turning it into the leading site for professionals to connect and for recruiters to find talent, Hoffman sold the company to Microsoft for $27 billion in 2016. He joined Microsoft's board early the next year.
Hoffman was also among the donors to OpenAI when it launched in 2015 as a nonprofit. As Microsoft allied itself closely to OpenAI through hefty investments and a technology partnershiop, Hoffman stepped down from the OpenAI board in 2023.
"By stepping off the board, I can proactively put to rest any downstream potential issues for both OpenAI and all Greylock portfolio companies I've backed," Hoffman wrote at the time.
Hoffman is now a co-founder of Manas, which calls itself an "AI-native biopharmaceutical company." In recent days, Hoffman indicated to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella that he should focus on that project.
"At the end of the year, I should really be transitioning right now to being in founder mode," Hoffman said on a podcast alongside Nadella that was released on Friday.