Microsoft and Apple drop OpenAI board seats amid regulatory scrutiny

Microsoft had secured a non-voting seat on OpenAI's board less than eight months ago, while Apple had been planning to join the nonprofit board.

OpenAI confirmed Microsoft's departure in a statement to The Verge, following reports from Axios and the Financial Times. Instead of board seats, OpenAI will now engage key partners, including Microsoft and Apple, through regular stakeholder meetings aimed at enhancing collaboration on safety and security.

Under the leadership of CFO Sarah Friar, we are establishing a new approach to informing and engaging key strategic partners – such as Microsoft and Apple – and investors – such as Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures.

These changes occur amidst growing antitrust concerns over Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI. UK regulators have been investigating the deal since December, with EU regulators and the FTC also examining the collaboration. Microsoft has invested over $10 billion in OpenAI, becoming its exclusive cloud partner, a move that has significantly advanced Microsoft's AI capabilities across its products and services.