Microsoft has reportedly decided not to join OpenAI’s board amid escalating regulatory scrutiny of the Artificial Intelligence(AI) firm.
According to Bloomberg, the tech giant communicated this decision in a recent letter to the OpenAI board.
In the letter, Microsoft expressed confidence in the company’s direction, noting the progress made by the new board over the past eight months, indicating satisfaction with OpenAI’s current trajectory. The tech giant, however, stated that it no longer believes its limited role as an observer is necessary.
“We no longer believe our limited role as an observer is necessary,”
the letter reportedly read.
Notably, this move comes approximately one year after Microsoft’s substantial $13 billion investment in OpenAI in April 2023. It also occurs against a backdrop of growing regulatory pressure on major tech companies regarding their influence on AI and industry dominance.
In May 2024, European Union regulators suggested that OpenAI could face an antitrust investigation due to its partnership with Microsoft.
At the time, the European Commission announced that it had asked Microsoft to provide information about its Bing search engine and risks relating to its generative AI services and its deals with OpenAI. It added that the company could face a fine of up to 1% of its annual revenue in the region if it failed to comply with the request.
Later, in June 2024, the agency’s chief Executive Vice President, Margrethe Vestager, stated in a social media post that the agency had concluded Microsoft “has not acquired control of OpenAI” or violated its rules. Vestager, however, added that local regulators would seek additional perspectives and keep monitoring the activities in the AI sector, including partnerships between big firms like Microsoft and OpenAI.
Notably, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a partnership in February 2024 to enhance user protection against state-sponsored cyberattacks, emphasizing their joint effort to strengthen the AI ecosystem in response to recent cyber threats, which have been on the increase since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
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