Apple backing out of $6.5 billion OpenAI investment?

WEB DESK: Apple has decided not to move forward with an investment in OpenAI, the creator of the popular ChatGPT AI chatbot, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The tech giant had been in discussions to join a funding round for OpenAI, which aims to raise approximately $6.5 billion. However, Apple has withdrawn from these talks, although the reasons for this decision are still unknown. The funding round is expected to close this week.

This development comes just a month after reports suggested Apple was considering investing in OpenAI, potentially boosting the AI company’s valuation to over $100 billion. The high valuation highlights the intense competition in the AI sector, largely driven by the success of ChatGPT, which launched in late 2022.

Despite Apple’s withdrawal, other major tech players are still involved in the funding round. Microsoft, which has already invested $13 billion in OpenAI, is expected to contribute around $1 billion this time as well. Nvidia is also reportedly in talks to join the investment.

Apple’s exit may come as a surprise to some, given its recent efforts in AI. The company had previously announced plans to integrate ChatGPT into Siri on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia later this year.

This integration will allow Siri to display ChatGPT responses, subject to user approval. However, recent reports about internal challenges at OpenAI, linked to its transition toward a for-profit model, may have influenced Apple’s decision.

Despite stepping back from the investment, Apple’s plans for integrating ChatGPT into its platforms are still on track.

The company has stated that iPhone, iPad, and Mac users will be able to use ChatGPT for free without needing to create an account, while users subscribed to ChatGPT Plus will have access to premium features on Apple devices.

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