Microsoft quits Sam Altman's OpenAI board amid AI partnerships scrutiny
Washington/IBNS: American tech giant Microsoft has left the board observer seat at OpenAI which has drawn regulatory scrutiny as the former said that it was not necessary as the artificial intelligence (AI) start-up's governance has improved significantly in the past eight months, reports said.
The Financial Times reported, citing people in the know, that Apple, which was expected to take an observer role on OpenAI's board, will not do so.
According to reports, in November last year, Microsoft took a non-voting, observer position on OpenAI's board after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was reinstated.
Owing to the seat, Microsoft could attend OpenAI's board meetings and access confidential information but had no voting rights on matters including electing or choosing directors, reports said.
The observer seat and Microsoft's more than $10 billion investment in OpenAI have triggered unease among antitrust watchdogs in the United States, Europe, and Britain, as per reports.
Citing OpenAI's new partnerships, innovation and growing customer base since Sam Altman's return to the AI startup for giving up its observer seat, Satya Nadella's Microsoft said, “Over the past eight months we have witnessed significant progress by the newly formed board and are confident in the company's direction. Given all of this we no longer believe our limited role as an observer is necessary.”
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