Microsoft and Apple drop out of OpenAI positions amid antitrust scrutiny

Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in the maker of the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, said in a letter to OpenAI that its role on the board would be “effective immediately. “

Apple also hoped to play an observer role on OpenAI’s board of directors as part of a deal to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone maker’s devices, but would not do so, according to a user with direct knowledge of the matter. Apple declined to comment.

Instead, OpenAI is reportedly holding regular meetings with components such as Microsoft and Apple and investors Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, as part of a “new technique for informing and engaging key strategic constituents” under Sarah Friar, the former head of Nextdoor who she hired as senior director and chief financial officer last month, an OpenAI spokesperson said.

The move comes as EU and U. S. antitrust governments are taking over the U. S. The U. S. Department of Commerce is reviewing Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI as part of broader considerations about festivals in the fast-growing sector.

CNBC reported that Microsoft had announced that it would step down from its observer seat on OpenAI’s board of directors as part of a regulatory overhaul of generative synthetic intelligence in Europe and the United States.  

Microsoft’s deputy general counsel, Keith Tolliver, wrote a letter to OpenAI on Tuesday night, saying the position provided greater board activity without compromising its independence.

But the letter, noted via CNBC, adds that the seat is no longer needed because Microsoft had “witnessed significant progress from the new board of directors. “CNBC reached out to Microsoft and OpenAI for comment.

The European Commission has said in the past that Microsoft could face an antitrust investigation, as part of its review of the virtual world and generative synthetic intelligence markets.

The commission, which is the EU’s executive arm, said in January that it was “reviewing some of the agreements that have been reached between the big players in the virtual market and generative AI developers and providers” and pointed to the rapprochement between Microsoft and OpenAI. a specific agreement that he will study.

9To5Mac reported: Just 8 days after it was revealed that Apple member Phil Schiller would be joining OpenAI’s board of directors as an observer, it is now reported that this will not happen.

Instead, OpenAI will engage in normal meetings with Schiller and other partners and investors. . .

The upgrade plan appears to be similar to antitrust concerns. Regulators in the US and Europe are already investigating Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI, and it’s conceivable that Apple could have opened itself to a similar investigation by sitting on the board, even without voting rights. .

In my opinion, OpenAI wants to reconsider whether it wants a board of directors made up of people from large corporations to be involved in what OpenAI does. Microsoft and Apple don’t seem to want to be on the board.

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