Microsoft, Apple Give Up OpenAI Sites Amid Antitrust Scrutiny – Report (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) reportedly resigned from his board observer position at OpenAI, while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will not take a similar stance as tech giants face increasing scrutiny over investments in AI startups, Financial Times it was announced on Wednesday.

Microsoft (MSFT), which invested billions in generative AI chatbot developer ChatGPT, said in a letter to OpenAI that his withdrawal from the board would be “effective immediately,” we read in the report.

Apple (AAPL) was also expected to take an observer role on OpenAI’s board as part of a deal to integrate ChatGPT with the iPhone maker’s devices, but the company has decided against it, the report said, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

As added in the report, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company will instead implement a new approach to working with partners like Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL) and investors Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures.

The pact between OpenAI and Microsoft has come under scrutiny from regulators around the world, including in the U.S., with the Federal Trade Commission investigating the deal. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority has also taken a closer look at the deal.

Microsoft says the reason OpenAI is relinquishing its observer role is due to new partnerships and a growing customer base that have been established since Altman returned to the startup.

“We have seen significant progress from the newly formed board and are confident in the direction the company is headed.” Microsoft’s role on the board was therefore no longer “necessary,” Microsoft deputy general counsel Keith Dolliver wrote in a letter to OpenAI late Tuesday, according to multiple media reports.