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Apple is set to take an observer role on the board of OpenAI, giving the iPhone maker similar insight into the artificial intelligence start-up as Microsoft, its biggest backer.
The board role was agreed as part of a deal between Apple and OpenAI, announced last month, to integrate ChatGPT into Apple devices. Tim Cook, the iPhone maker’s chief executive, said the partnership would be part of a suite of AI features for users, such as an enhanced Siri voice assistant, as it took the “next big step” to incorporate the technology into its products.
Phil Schiller, the head of Apple’s App Store and a member of its executive team since 1997, will take on the board observer role later this year, said a person with knowledge of the matter. The news was first reported by Bloomberg. OpenAI and Apple declined to comment.
The observer position means Schiller can attend OpenAI board meetings although he cannot vote on any board decisions. It puts Apple on a par with Microsoft, which also gained a non-voting observer role last year.
Microsoft has invested about $13bn in OpenAI as part of a strategic partnership that allows the ChatGPT maker to use Microsoft’s massive computing and cloud resources while remaining an independent business.
Microsoft is entitled to about half of OpenAI profits until the investment is repaid, according to the terms of the deal.
OpenAI revamped its board in March, with Sam Altman, the start-up’s founder and chief executive, rejoining after his dramatic ousting last November. A review into the boardroom chaos found no evidence that he misled investors or pushed product releases at an unsafe pace, concerns that led to him being fired and then reinstated days later.
It added three new board members including Instacart chief executive Fidji Simo, former Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation head Sue Desmond-Hellman, and Nicole Seligman, ex-president of Sony Entertainment. Former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers was appointed to the board late last year, and a member of the previous board, Quora chief executive Adam D’Angelo, also remains in place.
The Apple deal came as tech giants including Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are racing to develop new products using AI while also competing with — or in some cases, partnering with — start-ups focused on the technology. That has drawn scrutiny from US antitrust regulators which have demanded information about the partnerships between Big Tech and emerging AI groups.
Apple will not pay OpenAI to use ChatGPT, but the deal will give the start-up access to hundreds of millions of users. Apple’s suite of generative AI features, dubbed “Apple Intelligence”, is expected to launch later this year.
Additional reporting by Michael Acton