WSJ: Apple could become an investor in ChatGPT maker OpenAI
Apple could invest an unknown sum in OpenAI, having already partnered with the company on the upcoming ChatGPT integration with the Siri assistant in iOS 18.
Other potential investors may include Microsoft, which has poured $13 billion since 2019 into the startup but does not own part of it. Instead, it’s entitled to receive a portion of the profit generated by OpenAI’s for-profit business. The latest funding round is expected to value OpenAI above $100 billion, says The Wall Street Journal.
A surprising move (if true) but not entirely unexpected. While Apple buys small startups that haven’t yet hit big valuations for talent and technology, OpenAI is a different beast. The startup is a key partner for some of Apple Intelligence’s generative AI features, like Writing Tools and Image Playground. Besides, ChatGPT will be integrated into iOS 18’s Siri later this year using the latest GPT-4o model.
WSJ: Apple could invest in ChatGPT maker OpenAI
The report claims that Thrive Capital is leading the round, “which will total several billion dollars,” adding that Apple and Microsoft are expected to participate.
It is very rare for Apple to make big acquisitions such as its $3 billion deal with Beats Electronics. But it should probably invest in what’s right now the hottest technology startup on the planet. OpenAI isn’t the only external provider for some of iOS 18’s AI, as Apple also mulled partnerships with Meta and Google. But ChatGPT is currently the market leader in AI, and thus important to Apple’s AI future.
Apple made similar deals in the past. In the late 1980s, for example, it invested $3 million in Advanced RISC Machines Limited (better known as ARM) to fund the development of a new chip that would end up in Apple’s Newton MessagePad. ARM would go on to become the dominant force in mobile chips. Apple licenses ARM’s CPU blueprints for its custom silicon that powers virtually all its devices.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2024/08/29/apple-openai-investor-rumor/
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