Apple secures a seat on OpenAI's board

Source: Business Today

Apple has managed to secure an observer role on OpenAI's board, according to a report by Bloomberg. This new alliance follows Apple's recent decision to integrate ChatGPT into its devices. The report suggests Apple has picked Phil Schiller, the head of its App Store and former marketing guru, for the observer position. While he won't have voting rights or any real power, Schiller will get a front-row seat to OpenAI's board meetings.

This observer role is set to kick in later this year. In the month of June, Apple announced its partnership with ChatGPT during the WWDC 2024. The large language model will be made available on eligible iPhones, iPads, and Macs. The iOS 18 will have the biggest impact via the iPhones with Apple Intelligence. The smaller AI-related tasks will be handled by the on-device AI model. For more complicated tasks, Apple will send specific requests to OpenAI.   

OpenAI won’t be the only AI company that will partner with Apple. Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, has talked about the possibility of incorporating Google's Gemini AI model in the future. Federighi said Apple wants to give its users the power of choice. After mentioning ChatGPT as a prime example, he teased the potential for domain-specific AI models, adding, “We want to enable users ultimately to choose the models they want, maybe Google Gemini in the future. Nothing to announce right now.”