Microsoft, Apple Give Up OpenAI Board Seats Amid Regulatory Scrutiny

Microsoft has given up its observer seat on OpenAI’s board, less than eight months after securing the non-voting seat. Apple had reportedly planned to join the nonprofit OpenAI’s board, but now Financial Times Reports Apple will no longer be on the board.

OpenAI confirmed that Microsoft has given up its seat in a statement to the edge, the next Reports from Axios And the Financial Times Microsoft's deputy general counsel, Keith Dolliver, wrote a letter to OpenAI late Tuesday.

“We are grateful to Microsoft for their vote of confidence in our board and the direction of the company, and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership,” said Steve Sharp, a spokesperson for OpenAI. “Under the leadership of CFO Sarah Fryer, we are working to establish a new approach to informing and engaging key strategic partners — like Microsoft and Apple — and investors — like Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures.”

OpenAI's new approach to Microsoft and Apple will include hosting “regular stakeholder meetings to share progress on our mission and ensure stronger collaboration on safety and security.”

The changes to OpenAI’s board come amid growing antitrust concerns over Microsoft’s deal with OpenAI in recent months. UK regulators began seeking opinions on Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI in December, shortly after the turmoil that led to the ouster and return of CEO Sam Altman. EU regulators are also working on Considering partnershipAlong with other big tech deals in AI. The FTC is also investigating Microsoft, Amazon and Google’s investments in OpenAI and Anthropic.

Microsoft has invested more than $10 billion in OpenAI, in a deal that makes Microsoft OpenAI’s exclusive cloud partner. Microsoft’s cloud services power all of OpenAI’s workloads across products, API services, and research. The deal has given Microsoft an edge in the AI ​​race, and OpenAI’s models help power Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Copilot, and a range of AI features across its products and services.