Also keep in mind that Microsoft hasn't actually given OpenAI $13 Billion because much of that is in the form of Azure credits.
So this could end up being the cheapest acquisition for Microsoft: They get a $90 Billion company for peanuts.
[1] https://stratechery.com/2023/openais-misalignment-and-micros...
A good example of how just having your foot in the door creates serendipitous opportunity in life.
Sounds like Altman's biography.
Altman - private school, Stanford, dropped out to f*ck around in tech. "Failed" startup acquired for $40M. The world is full of Sam Altmans who never won the birth lottery.
Could he have squandered his good fortune - absolutely, but his life is not exactly per ardua ad astra.
I grew up poor in the 90s and had my own computer around ~10yrs old. It was DOS but I still learned a lot. Eventually my brother and I saved up from working at a diner washing dishes and we built our own Windows PC.
I didn't go to college but I taught myself programming during a summer after high school and found a job within a year (I already knew HTML/CSS from high school).
There's always ways. But I do agree partially, YC/VCs do have a bias towards kids from high end schools and connected families.