Apple is said to have dropped out of a new funding round for OpenAI at the last minute, but this will have no impact on its plans to integrate optional ChatGPT queries into Apple Intelligence.
Apple has decided not to invest money into OpenAI at present.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is closing a funding round that is expected to raise a $6.5 billion, that was previously expected to be funded in part by Apple. Other tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia are among those expected to participate in the new funding drive. Microsoft is expected to add another $1 billion to the $13 billion it has already invested.
The report isn't clear as to why Apple isn't investing into the funding round.
While rare, it's not unheard of for Apple to invest in other tech firms and promising startups. The company set up a $430 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in companies that help provide it with new technology, such as optical technology firm II-VI.
Another example of this is Finisar, a US-based company that provides some of the technology behind FaceID and Portrait Mode that Apple later acquired outright. Apple has also invested in Globalstar, which provides the infrastructure that makes the Emergency SOS via satellite possible.
Changes at OpenAI
The pullout by Apple could be related to the recent move by OpenAI to abandon its nonprofit status and become a for-profit company. The changeover will be complicated, and if OpenAI doesn't complete the transition within two years, investors in the current round may ask to have their investment money returned.
Apple's reported withdrawal from the funding round is not expected to have any effect on the company's current relationship with OpenAI. ChatGPT will continue to be an optional feature in Apple Intelligence as it rolls out across late 2024 and early 2025.
As Apple has noted, users will have the option of having queries answered by ChatGPT if the nature of the request is beyond Siri's knowledge base. The integration will allow users to access ChatGPT knowledge without having to create an account, though existing subscribers can integrate their paid features within those experiences.