Technology giants Microsoft and Apple have reportedly decided not to take up board seats at the artificial intelligence firm OpenAI amid increasing regulatory scrutiny.
Microsoft has sent a letter to OpenAI announcing its withdrawal from the board, Bloomberg reported on July 10, citing an anonymous person familiar with the matter.
The withdrawal came about a year after the Windows software maker made a massive $13 billion investment in OpenAI in April 2023.
OpenAI will have no board observers after Microsoft’s departure
“Over the past eight months we have witnessed significant progress from the newly formed board and are confident in the company’s direction,” Microsoft reportedly wrote in its memo to OpenAI, adding:
“We no longer believe our limited role as an observer is necessary.”
In contrast to recent reports that Apple would also get an observer role on OpenAI’s board as part of a landmark agreement announced in June, OpenAI will have no board observers after Microsoft’s departure, the company reportedly said.
“We’re grateful to Microsoft for voicing confidence in the board and the direction of the company, and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership,” OpenAI stated.
Cointelegraph approached Microsoft and OpenAI for a comment regarding membership in OpenAI’s board but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Concerns about the potential impact of Big Tech on AI
The news comes amid the increasing regulatory pressure on Big Tech firms over its potential impact on AI and industry dominance.
In June, European Union regulators announced that OpenAI could face an EU antitrust investigation over its partnership with Microsoft.
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EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager also said that local regulators will seek additional third-party views and will survey firms like Microsoft, Google, Meta and ByteDance’s TikTok in relation to their AI partnerships.
Previously, the European Commission also said that Microsoft could be fined up to 1% of its annual revenue in the EU if it doesn’t respond to a request for information related to its Bing search engine and its associated generative AI services.
In April 2024, Apple and OpenAI were reportedly actively discussing integrations of generative AI technologies on iOS.
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