OpenAI’s upcoming funding round seems to have gained some major attention. The likes of Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft aim to join the funding round (one that could leave OpenAI’s valuation at $100 billion), reports WSJ. Earlier reports on the funding round revealed that it would be led by Thrive Capital, which is making an investment of about $1 billion.
OpenAI’s meteoric rise in the tech industry is closely linked to the runaway success of its flagship product, ChatGPT. Since its launch in late 2022, ChatGPT has revolutionized the way people interact with AI, as well as sparked a global race among tech companies to integrate AI into their products. This has, unsurprisingly, made OpenAI an attractive investment target for companies like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft. For OpenAI, the proposed funding round (if it takes place) will prove to be a boost to its financial health, accelerate its research and development efforts, as well as place the AI firm among the most valuable tech companies globally.
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Nvidia, the world’s leading chipmaker, is in discussions to join this funding round, reportedly considering an investment of around $100 million (a move that is likely to further solidify Nvidia’s position as a key player in the AI sector). Currently, the company’s GPUs are the backbone of the AI models developed by OpenAI, and the chipmaker has already seen its sales soar in response to the growing demand for AI-powered technologies. Nvidia also reported a doubling of its revenue to $30 billion in its latest quarterly report.
As for Apple, the Cupertino-headquartered tech behemoth has historically been a latecomer to the AI game. However, the company is now making aggressive moves to integrate AI into its ecosystem, a shift that was noticed by its introduction of “Apple Intelligence,” a suite of AI features that will be embedded into the upcoming iOS. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is set to play a central role in these features, marking a critical partnership between the two companies. Earlier, the company also planned to take a board observer seat at the company, a role that would have given it greater insight into OpenAI’s operations.
As for Microsoft, the tech titan’s relationship with OpenAI is perhaps the most well-established of the three tech giants. The software giant has already invested roughly $13 billion in OpenAI to date, making it the startup’s largest and one of the earliest backers. Microsoft has tightly integrated OpenAI’s technology into its own products, including the Windows operating system and its Copilot AI platform. However, Microsoft’s close relationship with OpenAI has not gone unnoticed by regulators. In both the European Union and the US, there are growing concerns about the concentration of power within a few large tech companies, particularly in the AI space. Microsoft’s dominance in software, combined with its extensive investments in AI, has led to questions about the potential for anti-competitive practices.
