Microsoft recently announced its decision to step down from the OpenAI board after serving as a non-voting observer for 8 months. This move coincides with growing regulatory scrutiny of the interactions between tech giants and AI startups globally.
As OpenAI’s largest investor with a substantial investment of 13 billion USD, Microsoft has held the non-voting observer position on OpenAI’s board since November last year. However, Microsoft informed OpenAI via a letter that it believes significant progress has been made in the partnership, rendering the observer position unnecessary.
This development takes place as regulatory bodies in Europe and the US are increasing their oversight of the connections between technology giants and AI startups. The European Commission and Britain’s competition regulator are both examining Microsoft’s ties to OpenAI, and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether Microsoft adequately disclosed its agreement with Inflection AI and alleged dominance in the AI market.
Furthermore, the FTC is scrutinizing other tech giants, including Amazon and Google, for their investments in AI startups. Additionally, despite integrating ChatGPT into its latest devices, Apple has declined to assume an observer role on the OpenAI board.
According to Reuters, OpenAI has expressed its intentions to establish a new approach to engaging with strategic partners and investors by holding regular shareholder meetings.
