(Brussels) Microsoft has given up its observer seat on the board of directors of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, the American computer giant said in a letter seen by AFP on Wednesday, at a time when European and American regulators are stepping up their surveillance of the artificial intelligence (AI) market.
“Over the past eight months, we have seen significant progress from the new board and are confident in the trajectory of the company,” Microsoft said in the letter sent to OpenAI on Tuesday.
“We do not believe our limited observer role is still necessary,” added the company founded by Bill Gates, specifying that this withdrawal took effect “immediately.”
Microsoft has invested around $13 billion in OpenAI since their partnership began in 2019, raising questions on both sides of the Atlantic about the extent of its influence over the California-based startup founded in 2015.
Microsoft had been granted a non-voting observer seat on OpenAI’s board of directors in November 2023, after a heated argument over whether or not Sam Altman should remain at the helm of the company. Altman eventually returned, backed by the IT giant.
Both companies market AI services to developers and individuals, and compete with Google and other tech giants in this space.
Regulators in Europe and the United States have begun to address the issue of the dominance of the crucial AI market by a handful of digital giants.
After an investigation, the European competition watchdog concluded in June that “as things stand”, Microsoft had not acquired “lasting control” over OpenAI.
But the European Commission has requested new information from Microsoft on the agreement between the two companies “to understand whether certain exclusivity clauses could have a negative effect on competition.”
The US competition authority (FTC) has also announced an investigation into the multi-billion dollar investments made by Microsoft, Google and Amazon in the leading generative AI start-ups, OpenAI and Anthropic.
Apple, which was due to get an observer seat on OpenAI’s board of directors, has withdrawn following Microsoft’s withdrawal, several media outlets reported.