OpenAI's bankruptcy flames linger on as Apple wiggles out of its latest $6.5 billion funding round at the eleventh hour — leaving the mantle to Microsoft and NVIDIA
By Kevin Okemwa,
3 days ago
What you need to know
OpenAI is reportedly on the brink of bankruptcy, with projections of $5 billion in losses within a year.
Market analysts indicate the AI firm is in dire need of another round of funding to keep its operations running.
Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Apple were reportedly among the investors slated to participate in the round funding, but the iPhone maker withdrew its pledge at the eleventh hour.
As you may know, OpenAI was reportedly on the brink of bankruptcy , with projections of $5 billion in losses within 12 months. Market analysts and experts indicated that another round of funding was the ChatGPT maker's only lifeline, as it was barely breaking even from its generated ChatGPT and LLM access fee revenue.
For context, the ChatGPT maker generates up to $2 billion annually from ChatGPT and an additional $1 billion from LLM access fees, pushing its total revenue to $4.5 billion annually. However, the AI firm burns through this cash quickly since it heavily invests in its operations, including $7 billion in training its AI models and an additional $1.5 billion in staffing.
And now, according to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal , Apple won't be participating in OpenAI's latest round of funding. The iPhone maker's decision to withdraw from discussions to participate in OpenAI's round of funding remains slim at best.
Apple's withdrawal from OpenAI's latest round of funding is odd but not entirely surprising. The iPhone maker prides itself on being a privacy-centric brand, and this is arguably its unique selling point in the consumer market. This is despite the poor iPhone sales trend over the past few years, especially in China, as consumers begin to embrace homegrown brands.
Apple's distancing itself from OpenAI's latest round of funding comes at a crucial time when major tech corporations are hopping onto the AI train. As you may know, Apple just recently unveiled its new AI strategy, Apple Intelligence . It could be looking to assert dominance in the AI landscape.
Apple's decision to withdraw from the round investment could be part of its broader plan to focus on developing its own AI products and services centered on privacy and security. However, it is significantly behind its competitors like Google and Microsoft in the AI landscape.
This is a developing story, and we'll keep you updated on new developments as they become available. The OpenAI investment round talks are expected to end sometime this week.
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