Reports: Apple and Nvidia Consider Investing in OpenAI

Apple and Nvidia are reportedly in talks, separately, to invest in OpenAI.

The Wall Street Journal reported Apple’s consideration of an investment in the artificial intelligence (AI) company, while Bloomberg reported Nvidia’s interest. Both reports cited unnamed sources.

Reached by PYMNTS, Nvidia declined to comment on the report.

Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

OpenAI became the first official partner for Apple Intelligence in June, while Nvidia supplies chips and other infrastructure for AI tools like those developed by OpenAI.

The funding round is being led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital. It is expected to include participation from Apple rival Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019, according to the Bloomberg report.

An Apple investment in OpenAI would ensure its continued access to the company’s artificial intelligence technology but could complicate its partnerships with other AI companies, the Wall Street Journal report said.

The move would also mark a change from Apple’s tradition of not investing in startups, per the report. Typically, the company invests in manufacturing companies to secure access to the components they make for Apple devices.

It was reported Wednesday (Aug. 28) that OpenAI aims to raise “several billion dollars” in the new funding round. The company was most recently valued at $86 billion when employees sold shares in late 2023.

OpenAI’s partnership on Apple Intelligence was announced June 10 when Apple unveiled this new suite of AI features that will be added to the iPhone, Mac and iPad experience. Later this year, OpenAI’s GPT-4o will be integrated into Apple’s iOS, macOS and iPadOS. With the user’s permission, it will step in to handle tasks that Apple’s Siri can’t manage.

While OpenAI was the first partner for Apple Intelligence, Apple said at the time that it will work with other AI models as well.

The launch of Apple Intelligence comes at a time when Silicon Valley is waging an AI arms race, PYMNTS reported Monday (Aug. 26). While Apple was quiet on the AI front until now, Google is integrating AI into its search engine, Microsoft is infusing the technology into Office, and Meta is implementing it across its social media platforms.

The company’s collaboration with OpenAI is expected to improve Siri’s natural language processing capabilities, enabling more complex and context-aware interactions.

For all PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to the daily AI Newsletter.