According to media reports, just as global regulators are increasingly scrutinizing technology giants investing in artificial intelligence startups, Microsoft suddenly wrote a letter on Tuesday to abandon its observer seat on the OpenAI board, and Apple's previous demand for relevant seats is expected to be "abandoned"
It is reported that Microsoft stated in a letter to OpenAI on Tuesday that the decision to withdraw from the OpenAI board of directors will take effect immediately.
Last year, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, was suddenly fired by the board of directors and was reinstated a few days later, causing OpenAI to fall into chaos. This failed board of directors' forced palace incident seriously threatens the valuation of OpenAI and also threatens Microsoft's investment of billions of dollars in the company. Afterwards, Microsoft held an observer seat without voting rights on the restructured OpenAI board.
Microsoft Vice General Counsel Keith Dolliver wrote in a letter sent to OpenAI late Tuesday, "This seat provides insight into the activities of the board of directors without compromising its independence."
However, Dolliver also pointed out that "in the eight months since then, we have witnessed significant progress made by the newly established board of directors and are confident in the direction of the company's development. Considering all of this, Microsoft's role in the board of directors is no longer 'necessary'."
Dolliver also emphasized that OpenAI remains one of Microsoft's "most valuable partners".
In response, an OpenAI spokesperson said, "We are very grateful for Microsoft's confidence in the board of directors and the company's development direction, and we look forward to continuing a successful partnership."
A spokesperson for OpenAI stated that OpenAI will hold regular meetings with partners such as Microsoft and Apple, as well as major investors Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, as part of OpenAI's new approach to providing information to and engaging with major strategic partners.
It is worth mentioning that as part of the milestone agreement announced last month, Apple had previously sought an observer seat on the OpenAI board to further strengthen the connection between the two companies. However, according to a person directly familiar with the matter, Apple is no longer seeking to do so. Apple declined to comment on this.
Generally speaking, having an observer seat means that the aforementioned affiliated parties can participate in OpenAI's board meetings and obtain relevant internal confidential information, but do not have voting rights in matters such as board elections.
Why withdraw?
Analysts say that Microsoft's latest announcement of the aforementioned changes comes as antitrust agencies in the European Union and the United States are closely reviewing the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI.
The US federal regulatory agency has recently reached an agreement to conduct antitrust investigations against Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia over their dominant positions in the artificial intelligence industry, examining their influence in the AI industry and whether they have harmed competition through abuse and illegal behavior.
The partnership with Microsoft is crucial for the success of OpenAI. This startup relies on billions of dollars in computing power and cloud storage support provided by Microsoft. Microsoft CEO Nadella was also a key backing behind Ultraman during the OpenAI board turmoil in November last year.
The huge investment in OpenAI has also put Microsoft at the forefront of the global generative artificial intelligence competition. The company stated in April this year that it is striving to catch up with the rapidly growing demand in the AI field, and AI services have also helped drive accelerated sales growth on its Azure cloud computing platform in the past three quarters.
Microsoft does not have traditional equity in OpenAI. However, it has the right to share the profits generated by OpenAI related businesses, but not exceeding a certain limit. According to OpenAI's website, it is still a completely independent company managed by OpenAI's non-profit organization.
Currently, the eight member board of OpenAI includes Ultraman, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Fidji Simo, CEO of grocery delivery company Instacart. The chairman of the board is Bret Taylor, former CEO of Salesforce and co-founder of artificial intelligence startup Sierra.