As part of a fresh round of funding that may see the ChatGPT creator valued at over $100 billion, media sources on Thursday claimed that Apple and chip giant Nvidia were in talks to invest in OpenAI.
Apple’s interest was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which cited sources. Bloomberg News then reported on Nvidia’s possible involvement.
The announcement was made one day after the Journal revealed that venture capital firm Thrive Capital would lead the funding round for OpenAI with an approximate $1 billion investment.
Requests for comment from Reuters were not immediately answered by Apple or OpenAI, and Thrive Capital, Nvidia, and Microsoft declined to comment.
Apple’s artificial intelligence approach has benefited greatly from OpenAI, as evidenced by the company’s chatbot,ChatGPT, which was introduced on Apple devices in June as a part of “Apple Intelligence.”
It was also claimed that Apple joined OpenAI’s board as an observer.
According to the WSJ article, Microsoft, the company’s biggest strategic investor with over $10 billion in investments, is also anticipated to take part in the capital round for OpenAI.
The precise sums of the investments made by Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple are still unknown.
The AI arms race that OpenAI started with the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 is what led to the company’s high valuation. Businesses from a variety of sectors invested billions on the technology to remain ahead of the competition and gain market share.
Following the completion of an agreement wherein the company would sell existing shares in a so-called tender offer spearheaded by Thrive Capital, the Sam Altman-led company was allegedly valued at $80 billion in February.