Source: Apple is not taking an OpenAI board observer role, as AI antitrust scrutiny mounts; OpenAI plans to host regular meetings with investors and partners

ChatGPT maker plans strategy to engage crucial partners as regulatory scrutiny of sector increases

Financial Times 2024-07-10

Context & Ripple Effects

A week earlier, reporting said Apple would receive an OpenAI board observer seat through their ChatGPT partnership. This reversal from the previously reported observer arrangement comes as governance ties between major platforms and AI labs attract closer attention.

The partnership was already structured without an upfront Apple payment, with Apple aiming for eventual chatbot-provider revenue sharing. That commercial structure makes OpenAI's investor and partner outreach important even without a formal Apple board presence.

First-order effects

Apple avoids a formal governance link to OpenAI, while OpenAI loses the board-level access that had reportedly been expected.
OpenAI will use regular investor and partner meetings as a less formal channel to coordinate with crucial counterparties amid heightened scrutiny.

Second-order effects

The shift reduces a conspicuous governance connection around the Apple-OpenAI partnership, potentially making commercial and technical arrangements the main focus of outside review.
Other AI labs and large distribution partners may favor advisory or meeting-based engagement over board roles where strategic relationships could draw antitrust attention.

Third-order effects

If this pattern persists, AI partnerships may separate distribution deals from formal governance more clearly, reshaping how capital, platform access, and oversight are negotiated.
Regulatory attention could make governance design a competitive constraint for AI labs seeking both major-platform partners and outside investors.

The trend: AI companies and major platforms are increasingly structuring partnerships to preserve strategic access while limiting governance ties that can intensify antitrust scrutiny.

Discussion

@nongaap Mike on x
July 2: Apple's Phil Schiller will get an observer role on OpenAI's board July 10: Y'all realize how hard it is to herd (fat) cats during 4th of July and convince them to reverse a major public announcement after a week? [image]
@btibor91 Tibor Blaho on x
>Bloomberg reported last week that OpenAI planned to give Apple executive Phil Schiller an observer seat.
@georgenhammond George Hammond on x
Microsoft is giving up its OpenAI board seat and Apple will not take the seat it was widely expected to, as scrutiny of Big Tech's AI investments increases. New story with @CamillaHodgson https://www.ft.com/...
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
Yeah, as stated last week when the news broke, this was always wild and weird. And clearly many parties behind the scenes thought so and said so as well! That obviously includes Microsoft... as simple here as them offering to relinquish their role in exchange for Apple not
r/apple r on reddit
Microsoft and Apple drop OpenAI seats amid antitrust scrutiny
@lewis_crofts Lewis Crofts on x
.@Microsoft will give up its seat on @OpenAI board. A move that may affect view of whether Msft “controls” its AI partner. @CMAgovUK is looking into this. @FTC also sniffing. Msft thinks: no need for the position, which was set up after the @sama Sam Altman drama in Nov /1
@dinabass Dina Bass on x
Thus ends OpenAI's experiment with board observers. Will Microsoft's exit from the role be enough to assuage regulators? https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@lewis_crofts Lewis Crofts on x
The CMA probe is all about control of Msft over OpenAi given the 13 bn dollar investment. Unpicking the ties between the companies could help address the concern they have “ceased to be distinct.” /ends

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