Apple and chip giant Nvidia are reportedly in talks to invest in OpenAI as part of a new funding round that could value the ChatGPT maker at more than $100 billion.
Thrive Capital, a venture firm founded by real estate heir Joshua Kushner, is leading the latest funding round, which is expected to be worth several billion dollars. According to the Wall Street Journal.
Apple rival Microsoft, which has invested about $13 billion since 2019 and already owns a 49% stake in ChatGPT, is also expected to participate, according to The Wall Street Journal.
However, details about how much Apple or Microsoft will invest have yet to be revealed, the report added.
Apple and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, semiconductor giant Nvidia is also in negotiations to join. Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Apple and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Thrive Capital, Nvidia and Microsoft declined to comment.
OpenAI's valuation is the result of the AI arms race the company sparked with the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, which has led companies across industries to invest billions of dollars in the technology to gain competitive advantage and gain market share.
The company is led by Sam Altman. Equivalent to $80 billion The company inked an agreement in February to sell its existing shares in a so-called tender offer led by Thrive Capital.
Apple is tacitly acknowledging that it needs help catching up with companies like Microsoft and Google, which have emerged as early leaders in AI.
Both Google and Samsung have already released smartphone models whose main attraction is their AI capabilities, but Apple is suffering from an unusually long period of sluggish sales.
It's rare for Apple to invest in technology startups, as the company has instead focused on acquiring manufacturing partners to secure supplies of the parts it uses to make its devices.
But in June, Apple announced that OpenAI had been selected as the first official partner for the iPhone maker's artificial intelligence platform, Apple Intelligence, which will be built into its latest devices and operating system when they go on sale next month.
Apple is using ChatGPT to make its oft-failed virtual assistant, Siri, smarter and more helpful.
Apple Intelligence comes with features like an improved Siri voice assistant, text proofreading, and the ability to create custom emoji.
The optional Siri gateway to ChatGPT will be free for all iPhone users and will be available on other Apple products once the option is built into Apple's next-generation operating system.
ChatGPT subscribers should be able to easily sync their existing accounts when using an iPhone and get access to more advanced features than free users.
With post wire
