Microsoft has withdrawn its observer seat on the OpenAI board and Apple will no longer be able to appoint an executive to a similar role, amid regulatory scrutiny of big tech’s relationship with artificial intelligence startups.
Microsoft, the largest financial backer of the ChatGPT developer, announced the move in a letter to the startup, as first reported by the Financial Times. It said the resignation of the observer role, which does not carry a vote in board decisions, was “effective immediately”.
