WSJ: Apple in talks to invest in OpenAI as ChatGPT comes to iOS 18

OpenAI is seeking a new round of funding that values the company at over $100 billion, and a new report today says Apple is in negotiations to join in. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is “in talks to invest in OpenAI” alongside other companies, including Microsoft.

The report is light on details and says it “couldn’t be learned how much Apple or Microsoft will invest into OpenAI this round.” Microsoft, of course, is already a major investor in OpenAI and owns a 49% share of its profits.

According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI is seeking to raise several billion dollars through this round of fundraising. The report says that venture capital firm Thrive Capital is set to lead the round and will invest $1 billion.

Apple and OpenAI are teaming up to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18 later this year. Through this partnership, ChatGPT will handle world knowledge requests in combination with Siri. Bloomberg has reported that Apple is not paying OpenAI as part of this partnership, nor is OpenAI paying Apple. Instead, Apple reportedly believes that the exposure the iOS 18 integration is giving OpenAI is “of equal or greater value” than cash.