Apple, Nvidia Eye Investments In OpenAI As ChatGPT Hits $100 Billion Valuation

Update:

Bloomberg now reports that Nvidia has discussed investing in Microsoft-backed OpenAI through a new funding round. This comes one hour after WSJ reported that Apple was also discussing investing in Sam Altman’s chatbot startup. 

• NVIDIA HAS HELD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT JOINING OPENAI FUNDING ROUND

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Less than one day after the Wall Street Journal reported that venture capital firm Thrive Capital would invest at least a billion dollars in Microsoft-backed OpenAI at (or around) $100 billion valuation, new reports indicate that Apple is also in talks to invest in the chatbot startup. 

WSJ reports that the world’s most valuable company, led by CEO Tim Cook, is expected to participate in the new funding round that values OpenAI at $100 billion. There was no clear indication of how much Apple plans to allocate for the investment.

Apple is in talks to invest in OpenAI, a move that would cement ties to a partner integral to its efforts to gain ground in the artificial-intelligence race.

The investment would be part of a new OpenAI fundraising round that would value the ChatGPT maker above $100 billion, people familiar with the situation said.

It couldn’t be learned how much Apple or Microsoft will invest into OpenAI this round. To date, Microsoft has been the primary strategic investor into OpenAI. It owns a 49% share of the AI startup’s profits after investing $13 billion since 2019. -WSJ

In June, Apple partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Bloomberg noted that the agreement involved “weaving ChatGPT, a digital assistant that responds in plain terms to information requests, into Apple’s Siri and new writing tools.” 

The potential investment comes as Apple gears up for its big iPhone 16 launch event in less than two weeks.

According to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, the AI-enabled iPhone 16 will unleash Apple’s biggest upgrade cycle in history. 

“AI is on the doorstep,” Ives said, adding, “Our recent Asia checks are giving us more confidence this upgrade cycle will unleash a long-awaited renaissance of growth for Cupertino over the next year.”

Apple’s potential investment in OpenAI serves as a reminder about big tech’s move to dominate the generative AI space. So far, Microsoft has come ahead with its early investment in Sam Altman’s chatbot startup.