Apple has backed out of discussions that would have seen the tech company involved in OpenAI's funding round, which is set to bring in roughly $6.5 billion. According to a report from WSJ, Apple walked away from discussions earlier last week, sources close to the situation said on Friday.
Apple Pulls Out of OpenAI Investment
Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) had been earlier engaged in fundraising talks with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, but walked out of the negotiations some time back. The funding round is expected to be closed next week, WSJ reported. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) are the remaining tech giants continuing to engage in discussions.
Microsoft to Stake in OpenAI
Despite already investing $13 billion in OpenAI, Microsoft allegedly invested another $1 billion. That is since the launch of ChatGPT late in 2022, which has drawn a great deal of interest from the best technology companies. This marked a milestone occasion that opened up a global race into AI.
Valuation at OpenAI Skyrockets
According to the report, when finalized, this series could take OpenAI's valuation over $100 billion. The boom in interest in AI has directly fueled the jump in valuation as many businesses today have committed vast sums towards AI technologies. Among the companies leading the charge is OpenAI, which has set off a race of firms to stay on top and snag a piece of the rapidly expanding AI market.
OpenAI Faces Executive Exodus Amid Major Internal Changes
In less than a year, OpenAI has been experiencing a high-level leadership shake-up as several top executives have quit amid the company's internal change and transition. There once was a picture from March 2023 that told you four leading figures at OpenAI were there; one is left now, and that is CEO Sam Altman.
Image Source - X
High-Profile Departures at OpenAI
Two of the four key executives in the 2023 picture have resigned from the company and one is on sabbatical. The last of them is Mira Murati, OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer. Murati announced her resignation via a note she posted to X. She had been at the company for six and half years; she was a trusted advisor to Altman and managed many day-to-day operations of the company. But at the same time, she is also a contentious woman who more than a year ago played a role in forcing Altman out of the top job only to be reinstalled a few months later. According to published reports, Murati wrote a private memo raising concerns over Altman's management and then copied the board; he was out, only to be reinstated shortly thereafter.
Image Source - X
Altman Out, Back In The Troubling Details Behind the OpenAI CEO Change
Murati is leaving OpenAI at a time when the organization has resolved to become a for-profit firm. To some people, that is a departure from its founding aim, which was to maximize its impact on humanity without worrying about generating financial returns. This move, however, raises questions of whether the company is deviating from its founding ideals.
More Executives Exit
One of the other leading figures in Altman's brief ouster last year is Ilya Sutskever, co-founder and AI research scientist at OpenAI. Sutskever raised concerns that Altman was not sufficiently worried about the risks posed by AI. He further claimed the CEO did not behave in a fully transparent manner towards the board. While Sutskever will stay with the company as its chief scientist after Altman's return, he was voted off of the board and since has kept a relatively low profile. Last May, he finally left the company after almost ten years on the job to start his venture, Safe Superintelligence.
The second key player in the March 2023 photo is Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president and cofounder, who resigned last November after Altman's ouster. He said on March 17 that he would be taking a sabbatical through the end of the year; it will be his first since cofounding OpenAI nine years ago.
i just posted this note to openai:
Hi All–
Mira has been instrumental to OpenAI’s progress and growth the last 6.5 years; she has been a hugely significant factor in our development from an unknown research lab to an important company.
When Mira informed me this morning that… — Sam Altman (@sama) September 26, 2024
Rippling Effects on OpenAI's Leadership
The executive-level shuffling isn't done quite yet, though. Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and Vice President of Research Barret Zoph, who played integral roles in the development of ChatGPT, will also be leaving the company. Last month, co-founder John Schulman left to join the competitor AI firm Anthropic.
In response to the wave of departures, Altman posted on X, acknowledging the unusual nature of the exodus. Leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially ones that grow rapidly
, he said. But
I won't pretend this one isn't abrupt. We are not a normal company.
With inputs from agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies
© Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
