California: Apple has withdrawn from negotiations to join an upcoming funding round for OpenAI, expected to raise approximately 6.5 billion dollars, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Friday. The tech giant recently pulled out of the talks for the investment round, which is set to close next week, as cited by a source familiar with the matter.
Other major companies, including Microsoft and Nvidia, have also been in discussions to participate in the round. Microsoft is expected to contribute around 1 billion dollars, building on the 13 billion dollars it has already invested in OpenAI.
Neither OpenAI nor Apple provided immediate comments on the development. Last month, the Wall Street Journal had reported that Apple was in negotiations as part of OpenAI’s latest fundraising effort, which could value the AI firm behind ChatGPT at over 100 billion dollars.
OpenAI's surging valuation comes amid a broader AI arms race, triggered by the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. The AI breakthrough has led companies across industries to invest billions in artificial intelligence to stay competitive and capture new market opportunities.