OpenAI seeks $100bn-plus valuation in new funding round: Reports

OpenAI is reportedly courting Apple as an investor

OpenAI is reportedly courting Apple as an investor in a funding round that would take the ChatGPT creator and artificial intelligence innovator to a valuation of more than $100bn.

Apple rival Microsoft – which has invested about $13bn into OpenAI, owns 49 per cent of the upstart's profits, serves as the organisation's exclusive cloud provider and almost hired CEO Sam Altman during his brief ouster – is an expected funding round participant, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Venture capital firm Thrive Capital will lead the round with an investment of about $1bn, according to The New York Times. OpenAI was valued at $86bn late last year.

OpenAI funding round

CRN has reached out to OpenAI, Microsoft and Apple for comment.

The news of Apple potentially investing in San Francisco-based OpenAI comes weeks after the Cupertino, California-based device maker unveiled an integration between generative AI tool ChatGPT and Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI features that will enhance Siri's natural language understanding in iOS 18.

Tech giants have put big money into start-ups and organic innovation to win the ongoing AI arms race, with some deals even earning scrutiny from government agencies worldwide.

Microsoft's OpenAI partnership has leant itself to new AI tools solution providers can sell and AI capabilities across the product portfolio. But the AI movement is still in its early days in the channel.