Apple is said to join OpenAI's board of directors as an observer, similar to Microsoft.
According to Bloomberg, Phil Schiller, who is responsible for managing the App Store and Apple Events, was chosen to oversee the OpenAI board. He will attend board meetings but has no voting rights. "The new role will put Apple on par with Microsoft, OpenAI's largest investor and main infrastructure provider," the source said, but added that the detailed situation could change.
The information that Apple will have a similar role to Microsoft at OpenAi comes after the iPhone owner announced its partnership with OpenAI at WWDC 2024 last month. ChatGPT is coming to iOS 18 and is part of the Apple Intelligence feature set. Meanwhile, Microsoft is the company that has invested the most in OpenAI since the early days, with an amount exceeding 10 billion USD.
Schiller served as Apple's vice president before leaving his position in 2020 and is one of the Apple Fellows - a title given to a small number of individuals who have made major contributions to Apple. He continues to lead the App Store and participate in Apple events, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.
WSJ previously reported that Apple does not have to pay to cooperate with OpenAI. The company believes that bringing ChatGPT to iOS 18 "has equal or greater value than cash."