Microsoft Quits OpenAI Board

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Facts

• Microsoft confirmed in a letter on Tuesday its immediate resignation from the observer role on the board of OpenAI, arguing that its participation was no longer needed after the artificial intelligence company allegedly improved its governance.¹
• The tech giant, which has invested $13B in the ChatGPT maker, had a non-voting board seat in OpenAI for the past eight months, as part of a complete board overhaul following Sam Altman's ousting and return last fall.²
• This comes as regulators in both America and Europe are examining the partnership between Microsoft and the artificial intelligence startup.³
• Microsoft reportedly faces a US antitrust investigation into its alleged dominance of the artificial intelligence field, in addition to a federal probe into antitrust concerns over its deal with Inflection AI.⁴
• Meanwhile, European regulators stressed they are still 'very much focussed [sic] on the complex web of interrelationships' between companies in the AI space, even after an investigation into OpenAI and Microsoft was dropped last month.⁵
• The Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Apple would no longer take an observer role on OpenAI's board, as previously expected.⁶

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²New York Post, ³Wsj, ⁴Bloomberg, ⁵Forbes and ⁶Financial Times.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Washington Post. Once seen as potential competitive players, leading AI startups — including OpenAI — have become dependent on tech giants to cover costs and train its algorithms. This withdrawal comes as a direct consequence of the regulatory crackdown on the sway big tech holds over the still-nascent AI industry to promote fair competition.
• Narrative B, as provided by Business Insider. Microsoft — and Apple too, according to reports — has indeed quit its non-voting role on OpenAI's board to ease concerns of antitrust regulators, but its withdrawal doesn't mean that the tech giant will no longer have any influence over OpenAI. Their partnership will continue under a new approach, as regular stakeholder meetings will be held.

Predictions