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Apple is ready to tackle an observer role on OpenAI's board of directors, giving the iPhone maker an analogous insight into the AI start-up as its biggest backer, Microsoft.
The executive role was agreed as a part of a deal between Apple and OpenAI announced last month to integrate ChatGPT into Apple devices. Tim Cook, the iPhone maker's CEO, said the partnership was a part of a series of AI features for users, resembling an improved Siri voice assistant, as the corporate takes the “next big step” in integrating the technology into its products.
Phil Schiller, the top of Apple's App Store and a member of the chief team since 1997, will tackle the role of board observer later this 12 months, an individual aware of the matter said. The news was first reported by Bloomberg. OpenAI and Apple declined to comment.
The observer position implies that Schiller can attend OpenAI's board meetings, but he cannot vote on board decisions. This puts Apple on a par with Microsoft, which was also given an observer role without voting rights last 12 months.
Microsoft has invested around $13 billion in OpenAI as a part of a strategic partnership that permits the maker of ChatGPT to leverage Microsoft's vast computing and cloud resources while remaining an independent company.
Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft will receive about half of OpenAI's profits until the investment is repaid.
OpenAI reshuffled its board in March, with Sam Altman, the startup's founder and chief executive, returning after his dramatic firing last November. An investigation into the board's chaos found no evidence that he misled investors or pushed product releases at an unsafe pace. Those concerns led to his firing and reinstatement days later.
Three recent board members were added, including Instacart CEO Fidji Simo, former head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Sue Desmond-Hellman and Nicole Seligman, ex-president of Sony Entertainment. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers was appointed to the board late last 12 months, and a member of the previous board, Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, also stays in place.
The Apple deal comes as tech giants like Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta race to develop recent products using AI while competing with – or in some cases partnering with – startups focused on the technology. That has caught the eye of U.S. antitrust regulators, who’ve demanded information concerning the partnerships between Big Tech and emerging AI groups.
Apple won’t pay OpenAI to make use of ChatGPT, however the deal gives the startup access to a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of users. Apple's suite of generative AI features, called “Apple Intelligence,” is anticipated to launch later this 12 months.
