Apple No Longer In Talks To Join OpenAI Investment Round



Apple is no longer in talks to participate in an OpenAI funding round expected to raise as much as $6.5 billion, an 11th hour end to what would have been a rare investment by the iPhone maker in another major Silicon Valley company, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Apple recently fell out of the talks to join the round, which is slated to close next week, according to a knowledgable person.

Two other tech giants, Microsoft and Nvidia, have also been in talks to participate in the round. Microsoft is expected to invest around $1 billion, adding to the $13 billion it already has put into the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

The funding talks aren’t complicated and it is possible the participants and investment amounts could change.

OpenAI is also in the process of overhauling its corporate structure from a nonprofit into a for-profit company. That change, which was encouraged by many of the investors in the round, will be a complicated process for the startup. If it doesn’t complete the change within two years, investors in the current round will have the right to request their money back.

9To5 Mac reported Apple was first reported to be discussing an OpenAI investment last month. It was never clear, however, how much Apple might’ve invested in the company. 

Microsoft, of course, is already a major investor in OpenAI and owns a 49% share of its profits. Today’s report suggests Microsoft is set to expand its OpenAI investment with another $1 billion through this latest round.

The news of Apple’s decision to pass on investing in OpenAI comes amid more leadership and structural changes at the company. Former Apple design chief Jony Ive also recently confirmed that he is working with OpenAI to design an AI hardware product.

Apple and OpenAI are teaming up to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18 later this year. Through this partnership, ChatGPT will handle world knowledge requests in combination with Siri.

Mashable reported Apple is reportedly no longer in talks with ChatGPT creator OpenAI for investing in its latest fundraising round.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that a “knowledgable person” reported that Apple fell out of talks to join this round. It’s a surprise because the news came at such a late hour — the talks are scheduled to wrap up this upcoming week — but should’t shock anyone too intensely.

Apple rarely invests in another Silicon Valley company, and is known for being pretty conservative in the world of direct investments and acquisitions in comparison to other tech giants.

In my opinion, Apple can do whatever it wants to, including opting-out of supporting OpenAI.