Apple and chipmaker Nvidia are reportedly interested in participating in OpenAI's upcoming funding round, a move that could value the artificial intelligence company above the $100 billion mark.

This would be a somewhat unusual move for Apple, as the company doesn’t typically invest in startups. However, the investment would fit into Apple’s strategy to stay competitive in the AI ​​race, especially as tech giants and upstarts step up the pressure.

Thrive Capital, an investment firm, is leading the round with a $1 billion investment, according to The Journal. Microsoft also participated in the round, and the tech giant now owns 49% of OpenAI after investing $13 billion since 2019. However, the specific amount that Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft will invest has not been announced.

On August 29, OpenAI announced that its flagship product, ChatGPT, had doubled its weekly active users from last year to more than 200 million. However, the company’s revenue has yet to meet expectations, with annual revenue of about $3.4 billion by May 2024.

Apple and the Advances in AI

Apple's potential investment in OpenAI could disrupt the iPhone maker's efforts to maintain its position as a neutral partner in the AI ​​field.

In addition to its internal investments in AI technology, Apple announced a partnership with OpenAI in June to integrate AI features into its operating system. The company also revealed plans to integrate Google’s Gemini generative AI model into iOS and has discussed integrating Meta’s technology into the Apple Intelligence platform.

Apple doesn’t invest in startups often, but in recent years the company has taken strategic steps to secure supplies of key components for its devices, according to The Journal. An Apple spokesperson said the company invested $1 billion in SoftBank’s Vision Fund to gain access to emerging technologies that are “strategically important to Apple.”

In 2016, Apple also invested $1 billion in Chinese startup DiDi Chuxing.

Source: https://tapchibitcoin.io/apple-and-nvidia-participate-in-openai's-billion-dollar-dollar-round.html