Apple pulls out of talks to join OpenAI investment round, Reuters WSJ says

(Reuters) – Apple (NASDAQ: ) has exited negotiations to participate in an OpenAI funding round expected to raise about $6.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The tech giant recently pulled out of talks for the round, which is due to end next week, the newspaper said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Other firms such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: ) and Nvidia (NASDAQ: ) were also in talks to participate, the report said, adding that Microsoft was expected to invest about $1 billion after has already poured $13 billion into the company.

Last month, the Journal first reported that Apple was in talks as part of OpenAI’s new fundraising effort, which could value the ChatGPT maker at more than $100 billion.

The high valuation is the result of the AI ​​arms race triggered by OpenAI with the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, spurring companies across industries to invest billions in the technology to stay ahead of the competition and capture market share.