Reid Hoffman leaves Microsoft board for Manus AI

Reid Hoffman is leaving Microsoft’s board to focus on his AI drug discovery startup Manus.

Reid Hoffman is stepping down from Microsoft’s board after nearly a decade, according to a regulatory filing disclosed Thursday. The LinkedIn co-founder said he wants to go “founder mode” with Manus, the AI drug discovery startup he co-founded, which has raised more than $50 million.

What changed

Hoffman joined Microsoft’s board in 2016, the same year Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. His exit closes a stretch that overlapped with Microsoft’s biggest AI bets, including its first $1 billion investment in OpenAI in 2019.

He was also an early OpenAI investor and stayed on that board until 2023, when he stepped down over conflict concerns. Those concerns widened after Microsoft struck a $650 million acqui-hire deal with Inflection AI, the startup Hoffman co-founded.

• Hoffman says Manus is now far enough along to justify more direct involvement.
• Manus is led by CEO Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, the physician and Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
• Hoffman remains co-founder and chairman, but not CEO.
• The company has raised more than $50 million across two seed rounds, backed by General Catalyst.

Why it matters

The move reduces one more overlap between Hoffman’s venture portfolio and Microsoft’s AI strategy. For boards and investors, it is another reminder that the same founders, backers, and acquirers are often spread across competing AI bets.

For developers and drug-discovery teams, Manus is part of a fast-growing push to use AI for chemistry, not just chatbots. Hoffman says the goal is “Move 37” AI for science: systems that can surface novel compounds, including potential cancer treatments.

The timing also matters because AI drug discovery is moving from demos to trials. ByteDance’s Anew Labs has shown its first AI-designed therapy, and Google DeepMind’s Isomorphic Labs now has AI-designed candidates entering clinical testing.

The key question is whether Manus can turn Hoffman’s hands-on shift into real output before larger players set the pace.