Class A Dig: Inflection AI Microsoft $650M was talent+licence — not company ACQ; company still independent

Class A false company-ACQ Dig (Pass A5). Dealroom incorrectly encoded Microsoft’s Mar 2024 ~$650M arrangement as an ACQUISITION round (funding_id 924354 : amount $650 , buyer Microsoft).

Primary / contemporaneous record: Microsoft did not acquire Inflection AI. Per Reuters / TechCrunch / The Information: Microsoft hired CEO Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder Karén Simonyan and most of the staff, and paid ~$650M primarily for a non-exclusive technology licence (+ hiring-related waivers) — no company purchase . Inflection continued as an independent company; by 2025 CEO Sean White described the firm as still independent and pivoting to enterprise AI (Pi still operating).

Action: Deleted false Microsoft ACQ round 924354 (import_mode=delete, status 204). Growth Equity Jun 2023 $1,300 / val $4,000 and Early VC May 2022 $225 retained. Do not re-encode the Microsoft talent+licence as a company ACQUISITION without a primary company-sale close.

Sources: Reuters 21 Mar 2024; TechCrunch 21 Mar 2024; Emerging Tech Brew 28 Mar 2025.