Tech giant Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has pulled out of talks to invest in OpenAI, the company behind the artificial intelligence phenomenon ChatGPT. Apple was expected to join the investment round, which aims to raise about $6.5 billion, but recently pulled out of the talks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The funding round is set to close next week.
While Apple has pulled out, other major companies, including Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Nvidia, are still in discussions to contribute to the funding effort. Microsoft, which has already invested a whopping $13 billion in OpenAI, is said to be preparing to add an additional $1 billion to its investment.
The intense interest in OpenAI’s funding round is partly due to the company’s soaring valuation, which could top $100 billion. That valuation reflects broad corporate enthusiasm for AI technology, which saw a surge in investment after OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022.
This pioneering AI tool has sparked a competitive race among businesses to integrate advanced AI into their operations and products to gain a competitive advantage and capture market share.
