Apple and Nvidia in talks to invest in OpenAI: report

By Louis Goss

Apple and Nvidia are reportedly in talks to invest in ChatGPT creator OpenAI by taking part in a multi-billion dollar funding round led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital.

The fundraising round will see Apple and Nvidia invest in OpenAI alongside long-time investor Microsoft, in a fundraising round expected to value the artificial intelligence research organization at over $100 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia's (NVDA) participation in the funding round, which is expected to raise several billion dollars, would mark the first investments from either company into OpenAI as both companies have forged closer links with the AI firm in recent months. It remains unclear what sums Apple and Nvidia are planning to invest.

Microsoft (MSFT) is currently OpenAI's largest and most influential investor, having put a combined sum worth $13 billion into the AI research organization since 2019, via agreements that have given it a 49% stake in the entity.

In June, Apple announced it had struck an agreement with OpenAI to use ChatGPT in its own AI programs. Nvidia has worked closely with OpenAI in the past on various research initiatives that have seen the AI firm use the chip maker's most advanced semiconductors.

Apple has historically stayed away from investing in startups. Nvidia has more recently increased its investment activity over the past two years, including by investing in a series of AI companies.

The fundraising round is set to be led by Thrive Capital, the venture capital firm started by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, who is the husband of Ivanka Trump and son-in-law of former U.S. president Donald Trump.

OpenAI first launched its ChatGPT large language model program in November 2022 in a launch that is widely-credited with sparking an AI boom that has caused the value of the the world's top tech companies to surge.

Apple and Nvidia were approached by MarketWatch for comment.

OpenAI was first founded in 2015 with backing from an array of influential figures from inside Silicon Valley including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Palantir founder Peter Thiel, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Y Combinator founding partner Jessica Livingston.

-Louis Goss

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08-30-24 0424ET

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