In a surprising twist, it is apparent that Apple has pulled off funding talks with OpenAI—the creator of the star AI chatbot, ChatGPT.
Apple had agreed to participate in a funding round meant to raise approximately $6.5 billion for OpenAI, from which it has since backed out of these talks. Guesses about why such a move was made were plenty.
Apple Ends Funding from OpenAI
An early Wall Street Journal report says that Apple has stopped talking about joining the OpenAI investment round.
The Cupertino giant would reportedly join other big investors to raise new cash for OpenAI, valuing the AI business well over $100 billion. The company is perceived as one of the leading companies in the AI boom, especially after the end of last year when ChatGPT came into the world and took it by storm with its popularity.
Apple is set to drop out of a funding round; the rest will come from other big tech leaders, including Microsoft and Nvidia, which might close the deal shortly.
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Why Apple's Exit is Stirring Brows?
What's fascinating about Apple's move to walk away from the investment is the increasing interest in AI by the company. The company has recently been reported to be in active discussions over the deal, thus making its sudden drawdown attractive in interpretation.
Speculation is now extensive that internal issues within OpenAI regarding the direction the company was taking by positioning towards more of a for-profit company might have had a part to play in its decision.
The Role of Microsoft and Other Tech Titans
While Apple keeps sitting back, it is unlikely to stop its heavy investment in OpenAI since it has partnered with the company.
So far, Microsoft has invested $13 billion in OpenAI and added another $1 billion in this fundraising. Another leader in AI hardware, Nvidia, is reportedly in talks with OpenAI over this fundraising, which solidifies the support received by OpenAI.
Apple's Big AI Bet: What's Next?
Apple Inc. has not withdrawn from its AI development approach even though it had to leave OpenAI's funding round. In the summer, the company reportedly chose ChatGPT as part of its virtual assistant on platforms such as iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and the macOS called Sequoia, as per MacRumors.
According to sources, this feature is still supposed to roll out by the year-end, which will allow Apple users to use the capabilities of ChatGPT via Siri, which will render voice interfaces even sharper and more intuitive.
The Larger Picture: What's the Competition in the AI Industry?
With Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia fighting to lead AI innovation, Open AI suddenly found itself at the center of this battle.
Apple pulled out of an investment round for Open AI amid this scorching AI chatbot war. The fact that Open AI's valuation may soar beyond $100 billion shows that tech giants are fighting to be on top of AI development.
While it may seem surprising, maybe the company still has many more AI-related projects in the pipeline or felt that, at this point, investing in OpenAI was too much.
Regardless, Apple's plans to feature AI technologies such as ChatGPT in its products signal that the company is still committed to advancing its capabilities in artificial intelligence.
It might raise some questions if Apple disengages from an investment round into OpenAI, but that does not suggest a retreat from the AI space. It still believes in the vehicle and will see further progress in that space in its product lineup.
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