Good Morning! Competitors spending money in the same company, that leads to competition trouble! Especially in the AI race!

Today’s headlines:

• No observer for Apple and Microsoft in OpenAI 🔍️ 

• Still stuck in Space 🛰️ 

Have a good one

Nils

AI
49% Equity, But No Observer Seat

What Happened 
Microsoft has given up its seat as an observer on the board of OpenAI, the maker of the popular generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, while Apple has decided not to take up a similar position. This move comes as global regulators increase their scrutiny of Big Tech's investments in AI startups. Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, said in a letter that its withdrawal from the board role would be "effective immediately."

Why It Matters

• The decision by Microsoft and Apple to distance themselves from OpenAI's board is a response to the growing antitrust concerns surrounding the AI industry.

• The European Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission are examining the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI as part of broader investigations into competition in the rapidly growing AI sector.

• Microsoft's investment in OpenAI has been critical to the startup's success, providing billions of dollars worth of computing power and cloud storage, and propelling Microsoft to an early lead in the generative AI race.

• The move also follows a period of boardroom upheaval at OpenAI last year, which threatened the startup's valuation and Microsoft's multibillion-dollar investment.

What's Next 
OpenAI plans to host regular meetings with partners such as Microsoft and Apple, as well as investors Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures, as part of a new approach to engaging key strategic partners under its recently hired chief financial officer, Sarah Friar. The development also highlights the delicate balance that companies like Microsoft and Apple must strike between investing in and partnering with promising AI startups to stay competitive, while also navigating the complex regulatory landscape and avoiding the appearance of anticompetitive behavior.