Microsoft has dropped its seat as an observer on the board of OpenAI, less than eight months after securing the non-voting seat. Apple wasĀ reportedly planningĀ to join OpenAIās nonprofit board, but now theĀ Financial TimesĀ reportsĀ that Apple will no longer join the board.
OpenAI confirmed that Microsoft has given up its seat in a statement toĀ The Verge,Ā followingĀ reports fromĀ AxiosĀ and theĀ Financial Timesthat Microsoftās deputy general counsel Keith Dolliver wrote a letter to OpenAI late on Tuesday.
āWeāre grateful toĀ MicrosoftĀ for voicing confidence in the Board and the direction of the company, and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership,ā says OpenAI spokesperson Steve Sharpe. āUnder the leadership of CFO Sarah Friar, we are establishing a new approach to informing and engaging key strategic partners ā such asĀ MicrosoftĀ and Apple ā and investors ā such as Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures.ā
OpenAIās new approach towards Microsoft and Apple will involve hosting āregular stakeholder meetings to share progress on our mission and ensure stronger collaboration across safety and security.ā
The changes to OpenAIās board come as antitrust concerns over Microsoftās deal with OpenAI have grown in recent months. UK regulators started seeking views on Microsoftās partnership with OpenAIĀ in December, shortly after the turmoil that led to theĀ ousting of CEO Sam AltmanĀ andĀ his return. EU regulators are alsoĀ looking into the partnership, alongside other Big Tech AI deals. The FTC isĀ also investigatingĀ Microsoft, Amazon, and Google investments into OpenAI and Anthropic.
Microsoft hasĀ invested more than $10 billionĀ into OpenAI, in a deal that made Microsoft the exclusive cloud partner for OpenAI. Microsoftās cloud services also power all OpenAI workloads across products, API services, and research. The deal has given Microsoft an edge in the AI race, and OpenAIās models help power Microsoftās Bing search engine, Copilot, and a host of AI features across its products and services.
